Hoobiyee, the Nisga’a New Year made a come back this year, following two years of COVID restrictions and outbreaks in the Nass Valley that prevented the celebration from happening.

Although the celebration was much smaller than past years, Hoobiyee, which marks the arrival of the crescent moon and the first oolican to return to the Nass River, members of the Nisga’a Nation were ecstatic to ring in the new year once more with drums and dances.

“Hoobiyee means a lot of different things to different people,” said Michael Moore, one of the organizers of the event.

“The biggest thing is we are looking forward to a bountiful harvest, which is something we have paid attention to is the stars, the weather the seas, everything plays their role. For us as soon as we saw that crescent moon with the star above a lot of that dictated whether we’d have a good season or not, fishing hunting, gathering all of that is just something our elders, our people really paid attention to. It’s something that has been passed through our oral history for generations.”

More than 400 people made the trek to the Village of Gitwinksihlkw for the two day celebration. In the late 1800s Hoobiyee celebrations were banned and the dances and drummers had to go underground to preserve their history and culture.

These days people from across B.C. and Canada make the trip to reconnect with family and friends and look the the crescent moon for a bountiful harvest.