Oona River is a community situated at the mouth of the namesake river that drains a watershed on the southeastern shore of Porcher Island, approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Prince Rupert and 13 miles (21 km) north-northeast of Kitkatla, British Columbia. The river originates at an elevation of about 2,000 feet (610 m) and flows north-northeast for 2 miles (3.2 km) before turning southeast for another 2 miles (3.2 km) to reach the northern end of Ogden Channel. Porcher Island is at the mouth of the Skeena River and was named after Edwin A. Porcher, who served as Commander of HMS Sparrowhawk at the Esquimalt Naval Base on Vancouver Island from 1865 to 1868. The river’s name derives from the Coast Tsimshian word for skunk cabbage, a plant that thrives in the area. The community includes several residences, a town hall, and a fish hatchery along the banks of the river estuary, which opens into Ogden Channel at the confluence with Grenville Channel and Telegraph Passage. A geological fault called the Salt Lagoon Shear Zone, aligned with the lower Oona River channel, marks the eastern margin of the Alexander Terrane. This shear zone separates Ordovician to Permian plutonic rocks of the Ogden Channel complex to the southwest from greenschist-grade metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Ordovician Descon Formation to the northeast. During the Pleistocene, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet repeatedly enveloped Western Canada. At its peak during the Last Glacial Maximum around 17,000 years ago, the ice sheet spanned up to 560 miles (900 km) in width and reached elevations of 6,500-9,800 feet (2,000-3,000 m). It covered nearly all of British Columbia, southern Yukon Territory, and Southeast Alaska. In western British Columbia, ice flowed down fjords and valleys in the coastal mountains, covering Porcher Island and large areas of the Pacific continental shelf. This shelf was exposed due to eustatic sea-level lowering from the growth of continental ice sheets. Some ice lobes extended to the shelf edge, calving directly into deep water. The ice began retreating about 13,000 years ago, revealing much of the present-day landscape.

The north coast of British Columbia was first inhabited by humans as the ice of the last glacial period receded. According to local origin stories, the first people were descendants of a supernatural ancestor who arrived from the north by various routes and identified as the Raven people. Another early group was the Ts’oode, who had no clan affiliation and moved up the coast from the south. They eventually spread throughout the region, becoming lineages and house groups of the Wolf clan. Among the earliest inhabitants were the Gispwudwada, or “saltwater people.” Their clan houses became extinct or merged with others. Little is known about their lineages, except that they had the killer whale as a clan symbol. The last early people to establish themselves were the Eagle clan of the Haida. The ancestors of the Gitxaala occupied coastal lands, including present-day Porcher Island. The Gitxaala, one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian First Nations, now live in Kitkatla on Dolphin Island, a small island about 2 miles (3.2 km) off the south coast of Porcher Island. They were historically known as the Porcher Island Indians. In the early contact period, the Gitxaała, also known as the Sebassa tribe, were named after their paramount chief, Ts’ibasaa. “Gitxaała” is a Tsimshian name derived from “git,” meaning “people of,” and “kxaała,” meaning “open sea.” Historically, Porcher Island was divided into four family territories: the eastern half was claimed by the Kaswanlt’iibn, the northwestern part by the Gitwilgyoots, the central-western portion by the Laxksitkwiyoon, and the southwestern part by the Wilunaxnox. The Gitxaała are reputed to be the first Tsimshians to encounter and trade with European fur traders and to use firearms.

The construction of Canada’s second transcontinental railway, the Grand Trunk Pacific, began in 1906, spurring settlement around Porcher Island and nearby areas. At the time, the Canadian and British Columbian governments actively encouraged immigration to the west. If newcomers could not purchase land, they could acquire property through preemption. The preemptions on Porcher Island formed several communities, including Humpback Bay, Refuge Bay, Welcome Harbour, Hunts Inlet, Spiller River, Lawson Harbour, and Oona River. Oona River is one of the few coastal communities on Porcher Island that has survived the economic and technological changes since its original settlement. The other surviving settlements are Hunts Inlet and Humpback Bay. Oona River was settled by Scandinavian homesteaders around 1907 in anticipation of a railroad to Prince Rupert. A sawmill was built in the 1920s, and logging and fishing became the main commercial activities. The village has long been known for its wooden boats used in the salmon fishing industry. Many sturdy, seaworthy vessels were hand-built from red and yellow cedar by early settlers and their descendants; some are still in use today. A small salmon hatchery was established in 1980 and proved so successful that the community received funding for a larger facility. In 1999, a new hatchery opened as part of a resource center complex that includes salmon and shellfish rearing facilities. The complex also features wet and dry labs, a conference area, and apartments to host seminars, workshops, and field schools. Read more here and here. Explore more of Oona River and Porcher Island here: