Gitwangak Battle Hill, late 1700s First Nations fort in Kitwanga, British Columbia, Canada

Gitwangak Battle Hill is a National Historic Site of Canada, in Kitwanga village (or Gitwangax, "people of the place of rabbits" in the Gitxsan language), British Columbia. Battle Hill (Daa'ootsip) was a fortified village occupied in the late 1700s and early 1800s by the Gitwangak, a local First Nations people. Kitwanga is sited where the Kitwanga River flows into the Skeena River, at the crossroads of the old "grease trail" trade in eulachon (candlefish) oil, a staple among tribes of the Coast and Interior. Kitwanga is at the southern end of the scenic Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37, aka Dease Lake Highway or Stikine Highway, the northwesternmost highway in BC), just 4 km north of the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16). A long-standing village before contact, Kitwanga is within Gitwangak Indian Reserve No. 1.

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Filename: 1906AKH-0795.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 5472x3648 / 10.7MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; history past

Gitwangak Battle Hill is a National Historic Site of Canada, in Kitwanga village (or Gitwangax, "people of the place of rabbits" in the Gitxsan language), British Columbia. Battle Hill (Daa'ootsip) was a fortified village occupied in the late 1700s and early 1800s by the Gitwangak, a local First Nations people. Kitwanga is sited where the Kitwanga River flows into the Skeena River, at the crossroads of the old "grease trail" trade in eulachon (candlefish) oil, a staple among tribes of the Coast and Interior. Kitwanga is at the southern end of the scenic Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37, aka Dease Lake Highway or Stikine Highway, the northwesternmost highway in BC), just 4 km north of the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16). A long-standing village before contact, Kitwanga is within Gitwangak Indian Reserve No. 1.