as the late 1700’s, smallpox had devastating effects on Indigenous peoples of the Central Coast and beyond. By the mid to late 1800s, a series of smallpox and other pandemic disease outbreaks decimated our population. It is estimated that over 80% of our people died during this time – 8 out of 10 of our people. By 1882, the Heiltsuk – once thousands strong, were down to about 200 people. The effects on our knowledge, traditional systems of governance and management, and on our psyche, were profound.

In the case of Húy̓at, specifically, population declines meant that our people relocated and consolidated settlements. In the early 1860’s, for instance, a smallpox outbreak resulted in the considerable movement of the Heiltsuk, including into Húy̓at and Old Bella Bella. Earlier epidemics would have had similar effects on settlement patterns.