Approximately 326 years ago, around the year 1700, the Tseax volcano in northwest B.C.'s Nass Valley erupted — eventually forming what is now known as the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park.
The oral tradition of the Nisga'a people, known as adaawaḵ, records the eruption, and matches up with geological data.
Two villages were destroyed, and about 2,000 people are believed to have been killed. The lava flow also rerouted the Nass River, forever changing the landscape.
"It's a place where western science meets oral history and Indigenous ways of knowing," said Justina Moore, whose Nisga'a name of Gaahl Daats means "water lily."
Moore works as an education and programs director at Hli Goothl Wilp-Adokshl Nisga'a, the museum in Laxgalts'ap.
"For me, it's a place that holds a lot of history, and it really holds that validity in our oral histories," she said.
She recalls growing up surrounded by volcanic rocks, but says she didn't fully appreciate how unique the landscape was until later.
"When I was a child, I assumed that there was lava everywhere … I used to think that this was what the world looked like past our boundaries," she said.
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According to the official adaawaḵ shared by the Nisg̱a'a Lisims Government, the story behind the eruption serves as a lesson in respect and balance with nature.
It says the eruption was triggered after two children mistreated salmon, prompting a warning from an elder about retaliation from nature, resulting in the eruption.
A supernatural protector, Gwaxts'agat, emerged to block and cool the advancing lava — saving the remaining residents.
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"On your way back [from the museum] towards the lava fields, you might notice that they kind of just abruptly stop," said Moore.
"Then you're met with a lush green forest, the creeks, river and mountainside. So it's really interesting to see how well our stories tie in with the land."
