People uprooted from Bella Bella / Campbell Island (2)

Bella Bella, located on Campbell Island, is in the traditional territory of the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation. Bella Bella was originally located on Denny Island, but the Heiltsuk relocated across the straight between 1832 and 1900 and built a village adjacent to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort McLoughlin on Campbell Island. The fort closed in 1843, but the Heiltsuk community continued to grow. By 1923, Bella Bella had a hospital, wharf, school, and other amenities.

Old Bella Bella on Denny Island was a popular site for canning and salting fish in the early 1900s. A clam and abalone cannery and salmon saltery were built in the area by Japanese owners in 1905, and in 1912 another salmon cannery was opened in the area by the East Bella Bella Packing Co. The whole complex was bought by BC Packers Ltd in 1928, and it closed in 1931. In 1938, the buildings were dismantled and moved to Moresby Island (in the Haida Gwaii archipelago). It is likely that Japanese Canadians working for BC Packers Ltd were living on Denny Island before moving to find work in other nearby canneries.