View source for Hiellen

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Hiellen
|other_name = Tlielang, Hliiyalang, Łi'elᴀñ
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|nickname =
|etymology =
|settlement_type = Historic Haida village
|image_skyline           =
|imagesize               =
|image_alt               =
|image_caption           =
|pushpin_map = Canada British Columbia
|pushpin_map_caption =Location of Hiellen in [[British Columbia]]
|coordinates = {{coord|54|3|59|N|131|47|6|W|region:CA-BC|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes = <ref name="BCGNIS|64691|Hiellen 2">{{BCGNIS|64691|Hiellen 2}}</ref>
| established_title = <!-- Founded -->
| established_date = <!-- year/date -->
| established_title2 = <!-- Abandoned -->
| established_date2 = <!-- year/date -->
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{CAN}}
|subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province]]
|subdivision_name1 = {{BC}}
|subdivision_type2 = [[Haida Nation]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Haida Gwaii]]
}}
'''Hiellen''', anglicized from the [[Haida language|Haida]] name '''Tlielang''',<ref name=MacDonald>{{cite book |last= MacDonald |first= George F. |title= Chiefs of the Sea and Sky: Haida Heritage Sites of the Queen Charlotte Islands |publisher= University of British Columbia Press |date= 1989 |isbn= 9780774803311 |pages= 82–83 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=trMpIYjio_wC&pg=PA82 |access-date= 14 April 2023}}</ref> and also spelled in various ways such as '''Hliiyalang''' ([[Robert Bringhurst|Bringhurst]]) and '''Łi'elᴀñ''' ([[John R. Swanton|Swanton]]),<ref>{{cite book |last= Bringhurst |first= Robert |title= A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World; Volume 1 of Masterworks of the classical Haida mythtellers |publisher= Douglas & McIntyre |date= 2011 |isbn= 978-1-55365-890-0 |location= Vancouver |page= 437 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0WWBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA437 |access-date= 12 April 2023}}</ref> was a historic [[Haida people|Haida]] village located on the northern shore of [[Graham Island]], at the mouth of the [[Hiellen River]],<ref name="BCGNIS|29317|Hiellen River">{{BCGNIS|29317|Hiellen River}}</ref> across the river from [[Taaw Tldáaw]] (formerly "Tow Hill"),<ref>{{BCGNIS|74845|Taaw Tldáaw}}</ref> in [[Haida Gwaii]], [[British Columbia]], Canada.<ref name=Bringhurst>{{cite book |last= Bringhurst |first= Robert |title= A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World; Volume 1 of Masterworks of the classical Haida mythtellers |publisher= Douglas & McIntyre |date= 2011 |isbn= 978-1-55365-890-0 |location= Vancouver |pages= 22–33 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0WWBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 |access-date= 9 April 2023}}</ref>
The site of Hiellen is in the [[Indian Reserve]] known as [[Hiellen Indian Reserve No. 2|Hiellen 2]], about {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of  "Yagan 3".<ref name="BCGNIS|64691|Hiellen 2">{{BCGNIS|64691|Hiellen 2}}</ref><ref>{{BCGNIS|64692|Yagan 3}}</ref> Hiellen is located about {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of [[Masset]], about {{convert|90|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of [[Skidegate]], and about {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia|Prince Rupert]], on the mainland across [[Hecate Strait]].
==History==
Hiellen was a very old village, occupied for a long period in prehistoric times. Two different branches of the Eagle [[Moiety (kinship)|moeity]] trace their origin back to Hiellen. In the early 19th century the most important Eagle chief at Hiellen, who occupied the largest house, was known as Sqilao. However the town's head chief was a Raven known as Giatlins.<ref name=MacDonald/> Sqilao, was a close relative of the first known Chief Edenshaw, who was the uncle of Albert Edward Edenshaw, who in turn was the uncle of [[Charles Edenshaw]].<ref name=CMH>{{cite web |url= https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/haida/hvhie01e.html |title= Hiellan |publisher= Canadian Museum of History |access-date= 16 April 2023}}</ref>
The location of Hiellen conferred various benefits which contributed to the town's size and importance. The Hiellen River supports rich [[salmon]] runs, while the extensive [[tide flat]]s around the river's mouth provided an abundance of [[Pacific razor clam|razor clams]] and other [[shellfish]].<ref name=MacDonald/>
Nearby [[Taaw Tldáaw]] (formerly Tow Hill), a steep-sided remnant [[volcanic plug]], was not only an important landmark for canoes crossing [[Dixon Entrance]], but also served Hiellen defensively. According to [[Tsimshian]] war narratives collected by [[Marius Barbeau]], there was an elaborate fort built on the hill, with pallisades set at overhanging angles and entry limited to a trap door. According to oral history collected by [[John R. Swanton]], around 1860 a war party of Haida Ravens from Hiellen attacked the [[Nisga'a]] near their village of Anguidah on the [[Nass River]]. The raid was a success and the Haida brought slaves back to Hiellen. However, the people of Hiellen feared a retaliatory raid and took refuge in [[Masset]]. When the Nisga'a did mount an attack on Hiellen they found it deserted, and they burned the town to the ground. The smoke from the fire was visible to the people of Hiellen in Masset, and a counterattack was organized. The Haida and Nisga'a fought each other at Hiellen. The battle lasted all day and resulted in many casualties on both sides. After this, Hiellen was abandoned. The Raven families moved to Masset permanently, while most of the Eagle families relocated to [[Kiusta]].<ref name=MacDonald/>
During the 19th century the Haida people suffered major depopulation due to multiple epidemics of many diseases, with the most catastrophic being the [[1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic]], which resulted in the abandonment of all Haida villages on Haida Gwaii except Masset and Skidegate.
In the 1920s a clam [[cannery]] operated at or near the site of Hiellen,<ref name="BCGNIS|29317|Hiellen River"/> causing a small community to spring up at the old town site. The remains of the old town were destroyed during this period. The cannery closed in the 1930s. In 1981 the [[National Museums of Canada]] conducted an archaeological survey, which was able to locate the sites of five houses, though there were probably more in [[Protohistory|proto-]] and [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] times. According to Swanton, the largest house was named "House For a Large Crowd of People".<ref name=MacDonald/>
==See also==
*[[List of Haida villages]]
* [[Maritime fur trade]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:First Nations history in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Former populated places in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Haida villages]]
[[Category:Haida Gwaii]]
[[Category:History of British Columbia]]