The Lake Babine Nation is one of the three largest Aboriginal bands in British Columbia, but more importantly, it is the largest in our northwest, with close to 2100 members spread across five communities.

How they became the largest band and the particular trials that they faced also make them one of the most interesting bands situated along our Highway 16.

Before 1957, the Lake Babine Nation was comprised of the Old Fort and the Fort Babine Bands, both situated on Babine Lake. Between them, there were 12 communities occupied year round. Known as a Four Clan Nation, the people were either a Beaver/Grouse, a Frog/Marten, a Caribou/Mountain or a Bear/Grizzly member. These clans regulated rights of trade, resource access and inter-nation marriages. As with all nations, balhats (or potlatches as we've heard them called) were used to conduct a range of affairs.

Everything that pertained to the people was done in these balhats, from settling debts owed, helping someone in need, personal business or performing certain traditional rituals. These ceremonial feasts and get-togethers were the backbone of the aboriginal culture. Without them, their world would be turned into chaos, which came about with the 1884 criminalization of all "grand ceremonials and feasts.", ordered by the government of Canada.