Bella Bella, British Columbia
Bella Bella, also known as Waglisla, is the home of the Heiltsuk and is an unincorporated community and Indian reserve community located within Bella Bella Indian Reserve No. 1 on the east coast of Campbell Island in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. Bella Bella is located 98 nautical miles (181 km) north of Port Hardy, on Vancouver Island, and 78 nautical miles (144 km) west of Bella Coola. The community is on Lama Passage, part of the Inside Passage – a transportation route linking the area, and northern British Columbia as well as Alaska for marine vessels carrying cargo, passengers and recreational boaters from the south coast. The settlement "forms a national capital of sorts" to the Heiltsuk.
Bella Bella from the water
View of Bella Bella in 1942
The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv, sometimes historically referred to as Bella Bella, are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation, though the term is also used to describe the community. Its largest community is Bella Bella.
Detail of a 19th-century bentwood chest by Heiltsuk artist Captain Richard Carpenter (Du'klwayella)
Heiltsuk (Bella Bella) (Native American). House Post, from a Set of Four, 19th century. Cedar wood, Brooklyn Museum
Heiltsuk, Ladle with Skull, 19th century, Brooklyn Museum
Richard Carpenter bent-wood chest detail 01