Nat'oot'en

The Nat’oot’en homeland surrounds Babine Lake, whose long waters drain through the Babine River towards the Skeena. Villages and fishing sites line the lake, where salmon returning from the sea have long provided food. Several Nat’oot’en villages were present when European traders first reached the area. In 1822 the Hudson’s Bay Company built Fort Kilmaurs near the beginning of the Babine River, close to productive fishing grounds.