15,000 B.C.
Some believe the Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) was first occupied about this time and they called them Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai which means Islands at the Boundary of the World. The Islands are 90 km from the mainland and can be seen on a clear day. Their arrival therefore had to be via boats. The Haida would later name the 150 plus Islands as Haida Gwaii meaning the Islands of the People. Others called it the Haida Place. It is believed the Haida arrived 8,000 to 13,000 B.C. The ocean levels on the Islands fluctuated by up to 50 feet and did not stabilize until 3,000 B.C. making it difficult to find archeological evidence. It is noteworthy that Haida Gwaii was ice free during the ice age as were many of the islands of southern Alaska. Other coastal areas were ice free 12,000 to 11,000 B.C. maybe earlier. The low water levels produced great grass lands to support mammoth, mastodon and bison that were found on Haida Geaii and Quadra's Island (Vancouver Island).
A mammoth humerus from southern Vancouver Island has been dated to 17,000 YBP,
A bison find on Vancouver Island suggests human hunters killed bison on the Island peninsula Royal Oak, Victoria.
13,300 B.C.
Some contend this is the first Giant Flood of Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon when Glacial Lake Missoula ice dam broke sending 500 cubic miles of water to the Pacific in 48 hours. Others contend these have been going on since 80,000 B.C. The devastation however was profound, as this is more water than Lake Erie and Ontario combined. In some places there was a 1/2 mile high wall of water destroying the people and artifacts down the Columbia River. J. Harlen Brentz (1882-1981) first proposed the Giant Flood theory in 1922 to explain the geological evidence but was laughed at by the Geological Society.
12,000 B.C.
The Fluted Clovis point spearhead used to hunt mammoths appears all over North America. Clovis man has been found in the Peace River, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Washington, and Mexico. This unprecedented form of stone point has the conservatives puzzled, as it requires a very rapid spreading to fit their hypothesis. Conservatives suggest the Clovis Point likely only dates to 11,500 B.C. Another problem with this technology is that few Clovis points are discovered in Alaska and no Clovis points in Siberia except those dated 6,300 B.C. at Uptar which suggests an American to Asia migration. All evidence supports a south to north migration of this technology. The Clovis technology may have migrated from America to Asia. Many conservative scientists resort to science fiction type theories to explain these and other anomalies.
Segments of the Coast Salish people-the ancestors of the Squamish, Burrard, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam (Xw'muthk'i'um), Tsawwassen, Coquitlam (Kwayhquitlam), Katzie and Semiahmoo Indian bands-arrive English Bay. They seem to be quite satisfied with the beaches teeming with seafood-they named English Bay Ayyulshun, which means 'soft under feet'. And they liked the forests teaming with wildlife. Not to mention that nearby is the mouth of a big river (Fraser River) emptying into a vast ocean where big, fat, silvery salmon swam by six months out of every year.
Mount St. Helens erupted leaving a time line of pre and post giant floods of Glacial Lake Missoula that left extensive marks in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. It is believed that 12 giant floods actually occurred some say between 13,300 B.C. to 9,700 B.C. while others contend they occurred 80,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C.
11,500 B.C.
Some believe the Proto-Polynesians are living Haida Gwaii and are called the Old Haida. Speculation is they arrived on the Kuroshio Current from Asia.
