BACKGROUND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 734

Around 40 percent of British Columbians are of British origin, followed by 30 percent
of other European lineage, mostly French and German. To really get the British feeling,
just spend some time in Victoria—a city that has retained its original English customs and
traditions from days gone by. First Nations make up 3.7 percent of the population. While
the First Nations peoples of British Columbia have adopted the technology and the ways
of Europeans, they still remain a distinct group, contributing to and enriching the culture
of the province. Asians have made up a significant percentage of the population since the
mid-1800s, when they came in search of gold. More recently, the province saw an influx
of settlers from Hong Kong prior to the 1997 transfer of control of that city from Britain to
China.
LANGUAGE
The main language spoken throughout the province is English, though almost 6 percent of
the population also speaks French, Canada's second official language. All government in-
formation is written in both English and French throughout Canada.
The indigenous people of British Columbia fall into 10 major ethnic groups by language:
Nootka (west Vancouver Island), Coast Salish (southwest BC), Interior Salish (southern in-
terior), Kootenay (in the Kootenay region), Athabascan (in the central and northeastern re-
gions), Bella Coola and Northern Kwakiutl (along the central west coast), Tsimshian (in the
northwest), Haida (on the Haida Gwaii), and Inland Tlingit (in the far northwest corner of
the province). However, most First Nations people still speak English more than their moth-
er tongue.
INDIGENOUS ARTS AND CRAFTS
Indigenous artistry tends to fall into one of two categories: “arts,” such as woodcarving
and painting, argillite carving, jade- and silverwork, and totem restoration (all generally at-
tended to by the men), and “handicrafts,” such as basketry, weaving, beadwork, skinwork,
sewing, and knitting (generally created by the women). Today, all of these arts and crafts
contribute significant income to First Nations communities.