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Stuie (Nuxalk Territory)

Archaeological remains confirm that Indigenous peoples have lived in the Bella Coola Valley for at least 10 000 years. The unbroken oral histories of the Nuxalk first peoples (“Nuxalk” means “becoming one”) confirm archaeological findings. There is evidence of Indigenous villages throughout the valley, as well as on the coast. The community of Stuie is located in the traditional territories of the Nuxalk Nation.

Settler arrival
In 1929, having only viewed the location on a map, an adventurous young Englishman named Tommy Walker bought a parcel of land in the Bella Coola Valley, where the Atnarko and Taichako Rivers meet and the Bella Coola River begins.

In his writings, Walker recounts a legend of the Indigenous peoples in the region in which a wolf drops a small box-shaped object on the ground, which transforms into the village of Stooick, meaning “a pleasing place to rest.”

The name was eventually shortened to Stuie. Walker built Stuie Lodge on his land in 1931. Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada, visited the lodge to hunt and fish. Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and the current Tweedsmuir Park Lodge were both named after him.

Walker sold the lodge to Colonel Corbould in 1948; it burned down in 1953. Courbould built a second lodge, parts of which still remain on the property. New owners purchased the property in 2008 and have since made significant improvements.

Stuie is an hour’s drive (59.5 km; 37 mi) from Bella Coola. Vehicle rental services are available in Bella Coola.

Plane

Pacific Coastal Airlines runs flights from Vancouver to Bella Coola. From Bella Coola, the drive to Stuie is approximately one hour. Tweedsmuir Park Lodge offers a shuttle service from Bella Coola to the lodge. The cost of the shuttle service is included If you book a tour package through the lodge.

Vehicle rental services are also available in Bella Coola.

Automobile

Stuie is located in the Bella Coola Valley. Travel west on the Chilcotin-Bella Coola Highway 20. Stuie is 393 km (244 miles) from Williams Lake, slightly over six hours by car.

Boat

BC Ferries offers ferry service from Port Hardy to Bella Coola, from June to the second week in September. The direct sailing from Port Hardy to Bella Coola takes 13 hours.

Indirect sailings to Bella Coola may also stop at McLoughlin Bay, Shearwater, Klemtu and Ocean Falls, resulting in either a 24- or 36-hour trip to Bella Coola.

Bella Coola Valley Museum
https://www.bellacoolamuseum.ca

Lodge history: One of the original west coast lodges (Tweedsmuir Park Lodge)
https://www.tweedsmuirparklodge.com/lodge/lodge-history/

Stuie Lodge brochure from the 1930s
https://www.tweedsmuirparklodge.com/assets/The-Lodge/Tweedsmuir-Park-Lodge-Brochure-cirac-1930s.pdf

Explore more Communities found in the Great Bear Rainforest.