The Place

Sunset over the inlet — golden light on the water

Thompson Sound

Thompson Sound is a remote inlet on British Columbia's central coast, accessible only by boat or floatplane. Steep mountains draped in old-growth rainforest rise from waters that run deep and cold. Eagles circle above. Humpback whales surface in the channels beyond.

This is not a place you stumble upon. It is a place you are brought to — by the people who have known it since time immemorial.

The Kwikwasutinuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation has called this territory home since time immemorial. Their connection to these lands and waters defines who they are as a people.

The Kakweiken River

The Kakweiken River flows into Thompson Sound through a corridor of ancient cedar and spruce. It is a salmon-bearing river — one of the arteries that sustains the entire coastal ecosystem.

Each autumn, chum, pink, and coho salmon return to the Kakweiken to spawn. The grizzly bears follow. They gather along the riverbanks and wade into the shallows, feeding on the salmon that will fuel them through the winter ahead.

This cycle — salmon, bears, river, forest — has continued unbroken since time immemorial. The Kakweiken partnership exists to ensure it continues.

Ecology

An Interconnected World

The Kakweiken River corridor supports one of the richest ecosystems on BC's coast. Every species here depends on every other.

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Grizzly Bears

The Kakweiken's grizzlies are coastal bears — larger than their interior relatives, sustained by the annual salmon runs. They are the reason visitors come, and the reason stewardship matters.

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Salmon

Chum, pink, and coho salmon return to the Kakweiken each autumn. Their spawning run feeds the bears, the eagles, the forest itself — salmon carcasses carry ocean nutrients deep into the rainforest.

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Eagles & Raptors

Bald eagles gather along the river during salmon season, perching in the old-growth canopy. Timber wolves, black bears, and coastal mink share the corridor.

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Old-Growth Rainforest

The forests surrounding Thompson Sound are among the oldest in British Columbia — towering western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and hemlock, some over a thousand years old.

Kwikwasutinuxw Haxwa'mis

The Kwikwasutinuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation's people have occupied their traditional territory on British Columbia's central coast since time immemorial. This place that they call home spans from Wakeman Sound to the waters between Gilford Island and Village Island.

Within their ancestral territory they enjoy an abundance of natural resources and spectacular scenery. Their connection to their lands and resources defines who they are as people.

As stewards of their territory and its resources, they embrace growth and development, but diligently work to move forward on the basis of sustainability. The Kakweiken partnership is an expression of that philosophy — development that serves the land, not just the economy.

The Nation is part of the Musgamagw-Dzawada'enuxw tribal group, alongside the Dzawada'enuxw First Nation and the Gwawaenuk Tribe.