Visitor Guide - Burns Lake

First Nations Carvings
If it’s a Sasquatch directly out of First Nations folklore that
you are looking for, then make your way to Burns Lake.
Standing watch over Highway 16, outside the Ts'il Kaz Koh
First Nation’s Rainbow Gas Bar is a giant, carved red cedar
Sasquatch that is one of just two in the province. Created
by talented B.C. First Nations artist Ben Gerow for the
Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation, otherwise known as the Burns
Lake Band, the handsome looking fellow attracts his fair
share of attention. Be sure to stop by to fill up your gas
tank and take some photos with the legendary Burns Lake
Sasquatch. Gerow has also completed four large red
cedar clan carvings that are placed in various locations
throughout the village’s downtown core.
The carvings are a joint initiative between the Burns Lake
Band, the Village of Burns Lake, the Regional District of
Bulkley Nechako and Tourism B.C. Gerow grew up in
Burns Lake and has been carving for more than 33 years.
Each of the carvings took approximately one month to
produce, and are created from one solid section of red
cedar. Each carving represents one of the four clans in
the Burns Lake area – Bear, Beaver, Caribou and Frog.
As part of the Carrier Society, whose traditional territory
stretches from Anahim Lake in the South to Takla Lake in
the North, the six First Nations groups in Burns Lake maintain
a governance system referred to as potlatch, or the
Bah’lats. The four primary clans – the Likh ji bu (Bear),
the Likh sta Mis yu (Beaver), the Gilhanten (Caribou) and
the Jihl tse yu (Frog) – each also having several sub clans.
These clans make up Carrier society.
Take a walk around the village, see the sights and discover
the proud culture of the local Carrier people through the
four-clan carvings.
For more information on the walking tour and clan carving
locations, please stop by the Burns Lake Visitor Centre.
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