Niislaa Naay | Canoes & Healing

Restoring Culture, Reducing Poverty, and Building Skills

In Gaw Tlagee Old Massett, the Niislaa Naay Healing House Society is using traditional canoe building as a way to reconnect youth with Haida culture, while creating meaningful employment and healing from intergenerational trauma. Supported by the Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Fund, this initiative brings together culture, craftsmanship, and community healing in one powerful project.

What’s Happening at Niislaa Naay Healing House Society

With guidance from one of the last traditional Haida canoe builders, youth are learning to build Tluu—Haida canoes—from scratch. But the process is about far more than woodworking. It’s about identity, pride, and revitalizing a cultural practice that nearly disappeared.

Students are paid a living wage to participate, making this not only a learning opportunity but also a pathway to economic empowerment. The project creates space for young people to heal, learn, and gain valuable trade skills in a supportive environment rooted in community care and traditional knowledge.

As shared in the video, “We’re not just building canoes—we’re building confidence, purpose, and community.”

Why It Matters for BC First Nations

Across British Columbia, Indigenous communities are leading creative, culturally grounded approaches to social inclusion and poverty reduction. Niislaa Naay’s canoe-building program shows how traditional knowledge and economic opportunity can go hand in hand.

This project doesn’t just preserve Haida heritage—it inspires the next generation to carry it forward.

About the Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Fund

This fund, delivered in partnership between the New Relationship Trust and Vancouver Foundation, supports Indigenous-led non-profits working to reduce poverty and strengthen inclusion in their communities. Grants are flexible and designed to support long-term community well-being and self-determined solutions.