In north central British Columbia, the Lake Babine Nation used wood stake fish weirs for many centuries. Weirs facilitated the reliable capture of sufficiently large numbers of salmon (Onchorynchus spp.) to enable the Babine and other Indigenous groups in the area to support significantly larger and more sedentary populations than would otherwise have been possible. Little research has been carried out on similar weirs in the adjacent Fraser watershed, but no archaeological research has been conducted on the Babine weirs until recently. This thesis begins to fill this gap.
The present study begins with a survey of the global scholarly literature on riverine and lake wooden fish weirs to ascertain the factors that must have constrained weir design, construction, and management in Babine territory. Environmental factors and other criteria are important to understanding how and why weirs were used in the study area, and why they were so successful prior to their forced removal in 1906. An example of extant remains of a weir on the Babine River is discussed, and information from historic and oral historic sources is provided to develop a better understanding of the Babine weirs, and how they relate to the development of social complexity.
