Kamdis Heritage Site/Conservancy

The heritage site/conservancy helps protect an internationally significant intertidal estuarine wetland complex that provides habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and salmonids and has been used since time immemorial by the people of the Haida Nation for cultural, social and economic purposes. There are 11 registered archaeological sites and 77 culturally modified trees that have been recorded so far within the heritage site/conservancy.Hear the pronunciation of Kamdis from language speaker, Jasḵwaan Bedard, speaking X̱aad Kíl, the Old Massett dialect of the Haida Language.There were once numerous dialects of the Haida language, as many dialects as there were villages.  In the present day, there are three recognized dialects of the Haida language. In Northern Haida there is X̱aad Kíl, also known as the Old Massett dialect of the Haida language. In Southern Haida Gwaii the dialect is called X̱aayda Kil, or the Skidegate dialect of the Haida language. The third dialect is also called X̱aad KIl, and is spoken by Ḵ'íis X̱aadee peoples from Southeast Alaska.