Port Essington
Learn about Port Essington’s history and future as part of Kitselas’s Treaty negotiations.
History
Port Essington, or Spoksuut, has a rich history.
As a salmon fishery town, it was inhabited by Coast Tsimishian groups in the summer, and both Kitselas and Kitsumkalum in permanent settlements.
From the 1870s to 1960s, Port Essington was an important commercial centre on BC’s north coast with more than 5,000 people at its peak.
Future
Kitselas will receive several parcels of land as part of the proposed Treaty Settlement Lands.
Kitselas will receive half of the Port Essington Indian Reserve and Kitsumkalum will receive the other half.
Restoration and remediation of the land is required, as the area has not been developed since a fire in 1963.
