Namu means “place of high winds” or “whirlwind” in the Heiltsuk language and is located in Fougner Bay, at the entrance to Burke Channel. Archaeological evidence suggests that Indigenous peoples continuously occupied the site for at least 11 000 years, longer than any other place in Canada.

Namu cannery
In 1893, eleven years after opening the Rivers Inlet Cannery, Robert Draney opened the Namu Canning Company in Fougner Bay. A saw mill was established in 1909, which was used for lumber and to build boxes to ship canned salmon.

British Columbia Packers Ltd. purchased the cannery in 1928 and expanded its operations. Up to 400 First Nations, as well as workers of European, Japanese and Chinese descent were employed in the cannery. By the late 1940s, Namu had a school, recreation hall and employee residences.

In 1962, a fire destroyed most of the cannery . It was rebuilt in 1963, but closed in 1969 and the village was largely abandoned. Cold storage processing remained in effect until 1988.

The cannery facilities are now in serious disrepair and are an environmental concern, as many of the buildings are falling apart and contain asbestos.

Namu Conservancy and Namu Corridor Conservancy
The Namu Conservancy and Namu Corridor Conservancy were established on June 27, 2008 as part of the Province of B.C.’s land use decision for the Central Coast planning area. The Namu Conservancy spans 10 312 hectares, and the Namu Corridor Conservancy spans 83 hectares.

BC Parks explains that on Crown lands,

“The conservancy designation explicitly recognizes the importance of these areas to First Nations for social, ceremonial and cultural uses. Conservancies provide for a wider range of low impact, compatible economic opportunities than Class A parks, however, commercial logging, mining and hydroelectric power generation, other than local run-of-the-river projects, are prohibited. These economic opportunities must still not restrict, prevent or hinder the conservancy from meeting its intended purpose with respect to maintaining biological diversity, natural environments, First Nations social, ceremonial and cultural uses, and recreational values.” https://bcparks.ca/about/park-designations.html#Conservancy

Namu is located at Fougner Bay within the Namu Conservancy, and is only accessible by boat. The Namu Conservancy and Namu Corridor Conservancy are located roughly 25 km SE of Bella Bella and 55 km SW of Bella Coola.

There are no tour operators located in Namu.

The Abandoned Cannery at Namu, B.C. (Slow Boat)
This webpage includes some excellent photographs of the abandoned cannery.
https://slowboat.com/2017/08/namu/

After the salmon
Abandoned Namu, B.C., tells the tale of lost abundance (The Narwhal, May 15, 2018).
https://thenarwhal.ca/after-the-salmon/

From Tides to Tins: Salmon Canning in B.C.
This website contains some excellent photographs and descriptions of cannery history and processes in B.C.
http://tidestotins.ca/cannery/namu/

Namu (BritishColumbia.com)
https://britishcolumbia.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/cariboo-chilcotin-coast/namu/

Namu Conservancy and Namu Corridor Conservancy (BC Parks)
https://bcparks.ca/explore/cnsrvncy/namu/

Namu: Ghost Cannery (The Tyee)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djoM3EEr9fc

Namu (Land Without Limits)
https://landwithoutlimits.com/places/great-bear-rainforest/namu/