Old Massett Village Council (OMVC; ) is a band government of the Haida people, located in Old Massett, on Haida Gwaii. Old Massett Village Council is one of two Canadian band governments for the Haida Nation, the other being Skidegate Band Council. The main governing body of the Haida people is the Council of the Haida Nation, and as such the two band councils function as village governments.
The band was formed in the late 19th century through the consolidation of Haida communities who spoke , the northern dialect of the Haida language.
As of January 2026, the band has 3,329 registered members, 704 of whom live on reserve. It has 27 reserves, with a total area of . The band is governed by an elected band council, consisting of one Chief and seven councillors, with elections held every three years.
The Haida people are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest whose traditional territory encompasses Haida Gwaii, an archipelago of islands off the northwest coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and parts of southeastern Alaska. Haida of Old Massett are from communities which spoke , the northern dialect of the Haida language. The northern Haida inhabited the northern half of Graham Island, including other smaller islands like Langara and Hippa Islands. Their major villages included Kung (), Hiellen (), Dadens (), Kiusta (), and Yan ().
Old Massett was created in the mid 19th century by the consolidation of many northern Haida villages in the wake of the smallpox epidemic of 1862. It was first the location of a Hudson's Bay Company post in 1850. In 1876, it became an Anglican mission, led by Rev. William H. Collison of the Church Missionary Society. That same year, the Haida were defined as Indians under the newly introduced Indian Act. In 1882, the Massett Band was allotted sixteen reserves, which amounted to , by reserve commissioner Peter O'Reilly.
In 1886, Massett was part of the North West Coast Indian Agency, which was headquartered in Metlakatla. In 1910, the North West Coast Agency was subdivided, and Massett and Skidegate became part of the Queen Charlotte Indian Agency. This new agency introduced a full-time Indian agent who lived in Old Massett, subjecting the Haida to close government supervision for the first time. The band was governed by the Indian agent, with the support of the band council. The band council was formed in 1910, and consisted of seven elected community members, most of whom were graduates of the former Anglican Industrial school in Metlakatla.
In 1913, band members provided testimony to the McKennaâÂÂMcBride Commission, rejecting the imposition of reserves and demanding allotments that were equal to those given to other First Nations in the province. The Commission resulted in the allotment of five additional reserves.
In 1966, the Queen Charlotte Agency was combined with the Naas Agency, which was based in Prince Rupert, ending the close oversight by an Indian Agent which had been in place since 1910. Eight years later, in 1974, the Council of the Haida Nation was formed to collectively represent Canadian Haida, with the specific mandate of settling land claims on Haida Gwaii. The band councils would maintain governing powers over social and economic development, education, and healthcare. The economic development included the establishment of the Yakoun River Hatchery in partnership with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 1978, which sought to rebuild the salmon population of the Yakoun River.
Like other First Nation band governments, OMVC's registered population includes only status Indians as defined in the Indian Act, who are registered with the band. It therefore does not include individuals who are descended from the band, but have lost their status or are registered with a different band.
As of January 2026, Old Massett Village Council had 3,329 registered members. 704 members lived on reserve and 2,625 lived off reserve. The number of band members has been increasing from the historic low of 350 members in 1915.
Though the total band membership has been increasing, the population on the two inhabited reserves, Masset 1 and Tlaa Gaa Aawtlaas 28, has been decreasing, with a 19.6% decrease between 2006 and 2016.
The band council comprises eight members, with one chief councillor and seven council members. Elections are held every three years. The 2023âÂÂ2026 council is:
The primary governing body for the Haida people in Canada is the Council of the Haida Nation (CHN). Old Massett Village Council, alongside Skidegate Band Council, functions as a village government, while the CHN functions as a national government. OMVC is therefore responsible for membership, social development, education and healthcare.
In 2014, Old Massett Village Council completed construction of the Hiellen Longhouse Village, a series of 7 cabins located on Hiellen Indian Reserve No. 2, in Naikoon Provincial Park.
Old Massett Village Council is responsible for the administration of Chief Matthews School (), a K-4 elementary school, which provides instruction in Haida. The school was first opened in 1994, and is named after longtime Chief Councillor and advocate for education Chief William Matthews.
In 2018, the band council established (the Haida Language Office), to provide instruction and resources for learning , the northern dialect of the Haida language.
Old Massett Village Council has 27 reserves, whose combined total area is , with the main reserve being Masset 1. The majority of the reserves are located on Graham Island (), with 4 located on the nearby Langara Island (). Reserves numbered 1-16 were part of the initial allotment by reserve commissioner Peter O'Reilly in 1882. Numbers 17-21 were allotted by Royal Commission in 1916.
The band is classified as a Zone 4, Sub-zone 1 geographic zone by CIRNAC, meaning that there is no year-round road access, leading to a higher coast of transportation, and that they are between 50 km and 160 km from the nearest service centre (Prince Rupert).