2027 DATES ARE LIVE | NEW FOR 2027: 8-DAY SOUTHERN SG̲ANG G̲WAAY̲ | NEW: LEVEL 6 SURGE DRY PANT ADD-ON - PADDLE IN THE GEAR OUR GUIDES WEAR & RECOMMEND
Everything Is Connected
Haida Gwaii is an interconnected place. What happens on the land affects the ocean. What happens in the ocean affects wildlife and communities. Our choices as visitors become part of that larger system.
Travel thoughtfully.
Take only what you need.
Respect wildlife.
Protect the places you visit.
Leave room for the people who call Haida Gwaii home.
Please take some time before your trip to:
We encourage every Butterfly Tours guest to read the official Haida Gwaii Pledge and make a personal commitment to travelling respectfully in Haida Territories.
Learn. Listen. Ask permission. Travel with respect.
TAKE THE HAIDA GWAII PLEDGE
Yahguudang is about respect—for the Air, Ocean, Lands, People, and all living things that make Haida Gwaii what it is.
Respect is at the heart of being a good visitor.
When you travel through Haida Gwaii, you are entering a place with a deep history, a living culture, and an extraordinary connection between people, land, and ocean. The landscapes we paddle through are not simply scenery. They are part of a living homeland.
Travel with respect, curiosity, and humility.
Haida Gwaii is home to some of the most intact coastal ecosystems in British Columbia.
The forests, beaches, rivers, intertidal zones, and ocean are all connected. What happens in one place can affect another.
Treat every place you visit as though someone you care about will be visiting after you.
Leave places as you found them—or better.
For a sea kayaking company, respect for the ocean is especially important.
The ocean is not simply a place where we paddle. It is a living ecosystem and a source of food, transportation, culture, and livelihood.
Move through it carefully.
Give marine wildlife space.
Avoid unnecessary disturbance.
Be conscious of where you land your kayak, where you anchor, and how you move through intertidal areas.
Follow wildlife regulations and the direction of your guides.
And remember that the conditions can change quickly. Respecting the ocean also means respecting its power.
The ocean is not something we control. It is something we travel with.
Wildlife encounters are one of the great privileges of travelling through Haida Gwaii.
You may see whales, sea lions, bears, sea otters, porpoises, eagles, seabirds, and countless other species during your trip.
These encounters belong to the animals—not to us.
Do not approach wildlife simply to get a better photograph.
Do not chase, surround, feed, touch, or intentionally disturb animals.
Give wildlife the space they need to behave naturally.
Sometimes the best encounter is the one where you quietly watch from a distance.
We are visitors in their habitat too.
Haida Gwaii contains thousands of years of Haida history and cultural knowledge.
Some cultural places may be obvious to visitors. Others may look like an ordinary beach, forest, or shoreline.
Treat every place with care.
Do not disturb archaeological sites, village sites, burial places, culturally modified trees, artifacts, or other cultural materials.
Do not remove anything.
Do not climb on cultural structures.
Do not dig, move objects, or disturb the ground at cultural sites.
If you discover something that may be culturally or historically significant, leave it where it is and let your guide or the appropriate authority know.
If it isn't yours, leave it where it belongs.
Haida Gwaii is not an empty wilderness.
People live here.
Communities work here.
Families have lived here for generations.
Treat local communities with the same respect you would want visitors to show your own home.
Be considerate when travelling through communities.
Respect private property.
Do not block access roads, driveways, docks, beaches, or community spaces.
Support local businesses when you can.
And remember that your holiday is part of someone's everyday home.
Respect extends to everyone you encounter.
Be patient.
Listen.
Give people space.
Ask before taking photographs.
Do not assume that people want to be part of your travel experience simply because you are interested in theirs.
If someone asks you not to photograph something, enter an area, or participate in an activity, respect that request.
Respect begins with recognizing that other people have the same right to their privacy, traditions, and spaces that you do.
Haida Gwaii contains knowledge that has been passed down through generations.
When someone shares their knowledge, listen.
Don't assume that everything you hear is yours to repeat, photograph, publish, or share online.
Some knowledge is shared within particular relationships and contexts.
Be a good listener.
Ask thoughtful questions.
And understand that learning about a culture does not give us ownership of it.
Your guides are responsible for helping you travel safely and respectfully through Haida Gwaii.
Listen when your guides provide instructions about:
Sometimes your guide may ask you to change plans, stay in the kayak, keep your distance, or leave an area.
There is usually a reason.
Trust the experience of the people who know the coast and respect the decisions that protect the group, the environment, and the places we visit.
You are not the only person experiencing Haida Gwaii.
Give other visitors space to enjoy these places too.
Keep noise down.
Avoid crowding wildlife or cultural sites.
Share beaches, campsites, trails, and waterways thoughtfully.
If someone is looking for quiet, give them quiet.
One of the greatest gifts we can give each other in a wilderness setting is space.
Haida Gwaii is a special place precisely because it has not been treated simply as a resource or a tourist destination.
As visitors, we have an opportunity to experience it—but that opportunity comes with responsibility.
You may only spend a few days here.
The Haida relationship with these lands and waters extends across generations.
Travel accordingly.
Take the time to learn.
Listen more than you speak.
Ask when you don't know.
Follow the guidance of the people and organizations responsible for these places.
And leave the land, ocean, and communities with the same respect you had when you arrived.
Respect the Air. Respect the Ocean. Respect the Land. Respect Wildlife. Respect Haida Culture. Respect Communities. Respect People. Respect the places you are privileged to visit.
Yahguudang — Respect for All Beings.
Haida Gwaii is a place where visitors are welcomed, but not every place, experience, or event is open to visitors.
The islands are the ancestral and continuing homeland of the Haida people. Throughout Haida Gwaii, there are places of cultural importance, private homes and lands, village sites, burial sites, sacred places, and areas that may be closed or restricted.
As visitors, we may not always understand the history or significance of a place simply by looking at it.
That is why we ask first.
When we travel through Haida Gwaii, we are travelling through someone's homeland.
A beach may look like an empty beach, but it may hold generations of history.
A forest may appear untouched, but it may contain culturally modified trees or other signs of Haida use.
An old village site is not simply a collection of ruins.
A gathering or ceremony is not automatically a public event.
There are stories, relationships, responsibilities, and histories connected to these places that visitors may not see.
Being a respectful visitor means recognizing that we don't always know what we don't know.
Respect closures and restrictions, even when there is no physical barrier preventing you from entering.
Do not assume that because you can reach a beach by kayak, you are welcome to land there.
Do not enter private property.
Do not walk into areas marked as closed or restricted.
Do not disturb cultural sites or areas that have been identified as sensitive.
If an area is closed, stay out.
If you aren't sure whether you are welcome, choose to ask rather than assume.
Photography is an important part of how many people remember their travels, but a photograph can also capture something deeply personal or culturally significant.
Before photographing people, homes, cultural activities, or culturally significant places, ask permission first.
If someone says no, respect their answer.
Do not photograph people without their knowledge simply because they are part of the scenery.
Do not photograph ceremonies or cultural activities unless you have been invited to do so.
And remember that a photograph of a cultural site can sometimes reveal more than we realize.
Not everything that is beautiful is ours to document.
Sometimes the respectful thing to do is simply experience a place and leave without taking a photograph.
Throughout Haida Gwaii, you may encounter things that appear old, unusual, or interesting.
You might find:
Leave them where you find them.
Do not collect, move, touch, dig for, or take cultural materials.
If you discover something that appears significant, leave it in place and let your guide or the appropriate authority know.
The best souvenir from Haida Gwaii is the memory you take home—not something you remove from the islands.
Haida cultural practices, ceremonies, gatherings, and potlatches are not performances for visitors.
Do not attend unless you have been personally invited.
If you are invited into a cultural experience, listen carefully to the people hosting you and follow their guidance about what is appropriate.
An invitation is a privilege.
Treat it that way.
One of the best ways to travel respectfully is to listen.
Listen to the people who live here.
Listen to the Haida Watchmen.
Listen to your guides.
Listen to local communities.
Listen when someone tells you that an area is sensitive, a place is closed, or a particular action is not appropriate.
You don't need to understand every reason immediately in order to respect the request.
Respect can begin with listening.
Different areas of Haida Gwaii have different rules, requirements, and restrictions.
Before entering Gwaii Haanas or other protected areas, make sure you understand the current visitor requirements and complete any required orientations.
Follow posted signs, closures, wildlife regulations, camping requirements, and guidance from Parks Canada, the Council of the Haida Nation, local communities, and your guides.
Rules can change.
Check before you travel rather than relying on what you heard from someone who visited years ago.
The same principle applies to anything you might want to bring home.
Before picking up a shell, rock, feather, piece of driftwood, plant, or other natural object, stop and ask yourself:
Is this mine to take?
In Haida Gwaii, the answer should usually be to leave it where it belongs.
The islands don't need to be collected to be appreciated.
You don't need to know everything about Haida Gwaii before you arrive.
You do need to be willing to learn.
If you aren't sure whether you can enter somewhere, ask.
If you aren't sure whether you can take a photograph, ask.
If you aren't sure whether an activity is appropriate, ask.
If you aren't sure whether something can be taken home, leave it where it is and ask.
As visitors, we don't need to have all the answers.
We need to have enough respect to ask the question.
Ask before you enter. Ask before you photograph. Ask before you take. Ask before you participate. Ask before you assume.
When in doubt, ask first.
Tll yahda reminds us that we all have a responsibility to make things right when our actions cause harm.
We are human, and we will sometimes make mistakes. What matters is recognizing those impacts, taking responsibility, and doing what we can to correct them.
When travelling through Haida Gwaii, our responsibility extends beyond ourselves. Our choices affect the Air, Earth, Ocean, People, wildlife, and places we are visiting.
Being a responsible visitor means paying attention to the impact you have.
If you make a mistake, don't simply walk away from it. Acknowledge what happened and do what you can to make it right.
If you see something that needs attention, take responsibility where you can or let someone who can help know about it.
Wilderness can feel untouched, but our presence still has an impact.
As kayakers and campers, we think carefully about:
Travel lightly and think beyond the moment.
When we leave a beach, campsite, trail, or shoreline, we want the next person to experience it much as we did.
That means packing out everything we bring with us, picking up waste when we find it, and avoiding unnecessary disturbance to the places we visit.
If you see a small piece of garbage on the beach, pick it up.
If something can be made right, make the effort.
Small actions matter.
Making things right isn't only about the environment.
Haida Gwaii is home to Haida communities and families. Be thoughtful about how your presence affects the people who live and work here.
Listen. Be respectful. Follow local guidance. Support local businesses. And remember that you are a visitor in someone's homeland.
Our goal as visitors shouldn't simply be to avoid doing harm.
We can also look for ways to contribute positively—to support local communities, care for the places we visit, and leave them in a better condition than we found them.
Tll yahda means taking responsibility for our actions and making things right when we can.
Travel thoughtfully. Tread lightly. Take responsibility. Leave it better than you found it.
Haida Gwaii is an interconnected place. The land, ocean, forests, beaches, wildlife, and people are all part of an intricate web of life. What we do as visitors can have an impact far beyond what we see in front of us.
Beachcombing, camping, harvesting, boating, driving, and even taking something small from a beach can have a ripple effect on the habitats and ecosystems around us. As visitors, we are encouraged to tread lightly and take only what is given.
The beaches of Haida Gwaii can be full of beautiful and fascinating things—shells, rocks, feathers, driftwood, agates, and other natural objects. They may seem insignificant when taken individually, but they are part of the places they come from.
Leave rocks, feathers, sand, shells, driftwood, agates, and artifacts where you find them.
If you discover something that you believe may be historically or culturally significant, take a photograph and note its location rather than removing it. The official Haida Gwaii guidance recommends contacting the Haida Gwaii Museum if you believe you have found something of interest or significance.
Haida Ways of Being include a long-standing principle of taking only what you need. Haida Gwaii provides an abundance of food and resources, but that abundance is not unlimited.
If you are harvesting or gathering, consider what you actually need and the effect your actions may have on the ecosystem.
Take only what you need. Leave enough for the animals, the ecosystem, and those who come after you.
The official visitor orientation also highlights protecting sensitive areas such as clam beds, including keeping motorized vehicles away from beaches where they can cause damage.
As kayakers and campers, we spend our days moving through some of the most remote and intact coastal environments in British Columbia.
That means paying attention to the small things:
The goal isn't simply to leave no trace. It is to understand that we are part of the place while we are here, and our actions become part of its story.
Being connected to Haida Gwaii also means recognizing the people and communities who live here and care for these lands and waters.
When possible, support local businesses, guides, accommodations, restaurants, artists, and other services. Your visit can contribute to the communities that make travel in Haida Gwaii possible.
The Haida Gwaii Pledge specifically encourages visitors to support local businesses and give back where they can.
You may only spend a few days or weeks in Haida Gwaii. The relationships between the land, ocean, wildlife, and people continue long after you leave.
Take only what you need. Leave what belongs here. Tread lightly. Support the communities that welcome you. And remember that everything depends on everything else.