Ksan Historical Village

'Ksan stands where the Bulkley meets the Skeena, the site of the Gitxsan village of Gitanmaax, occupied for thousands of years. The village of seven cedar longhouses was built from 1958 and opened in 1970, reconstructing the traditional plank house form with painted fronts and poles standing before them; three are museum houses shown on guided tours with masks, regalia and a feast hall. A carving school operated here and trained a generation of Northwest Coast artists whose work is in collections worldwide. Nearby, the villages of Gitanyow and Kispiox hold standing pole groups in their original settings rather than a museum one.

What you actually see

• The seven longhouses - reconstructed plank houses with painted fronts.
• The museum houses - regalia, masks and a feast hall shown on tour.
• The carving tradition - the school that trained many Northwest Coast artists.
• The river junction - the Bulkley meeting the Skeena below the village.

When to go

May to September for full tours and performances; the site reduces to limited hours in winter. Summer brings dance performances on a schedule.

Honest expectations

Interior access is by guided tour only and at set times. Photography is restricted inside. The nearby pole villages are separate drives and are living communities, not sites.

Nearby

Gitanyow and Kispiox lie north; the Nass Valley is northwest.