Haida Gwaii

Haida Gwaii (Haida: X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay; lit. "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago of 150 islands and a sovereign island country in North America, located approximately 100 kilometres off the west coast of the British Columbia, Canada in the Pacific Ocean. In December 2020, Haida Gwaii had an estimated population of 3.62 million. Its capital and largest city is Sandspit, located on the northeast tip of Moresby Island, one of the archipelago's two main islands, alongside Graham Island. 90% of the national population lives on one of the two main islands, split roughly evenly with a slightly higher population on Graham Island. Fishing is one of the major industries of the country, as is agriculture, with nearly 25% of the archipelago's forests cleared to make way for farmland, mostly on the two main islands. The oil industry is also an important staple of the Haida economy, due to the presence of vast oilfields within Haida Gwaii's territorial waters off the west coast of Graham Island.

Haida Gwaii is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch, currently King Tāan II as head of state, and an indirectly elected Prime Minister as head of government. The Prime Minister is typically the leader of the party or coalition holding the most seats (preferably a majority) in the Haida National Assembly. Elections to the National Assembly take place every four years in what is called a general election. The incumbent Prime Minister appoints typically members of his party or coalition to chair the various executive departments (ministries) which each oversee a particular realm of public administration and government services. National executive ministers and the Prime Minister together meet at the National Longhouse in Sandspit, the Prime Minister's cabinet and the top executive organ of the Haida government.

Often considered the only Native American nation to remain independent from the Europeans, Haida Gwaii is today a relatively fast-changing society. Much of the local industry continues to be based around fishing, but there is a growing tourism industry, with several contrasting businesses staking their claim, from hostels to five-star resorts and casinos, fishing, diving and sailing guides, charter boating tours, a small but lucrative seaplane service offering scheduled and charter flights, and of course the expansion of the oil industry off the west coast of Graham Island, in territorial waters which sit above major, barely tapped oil reserves. Over ten corporations are currently lobbying the national government for drilling rights, adding to the already three rigs and two under construction 30 km west of Graham Island. Plans are also underway for the construction of a second international airport at Sandspit—Queen Charlotte International Airport, near the city of Port Clements, approximately 30 kilometres south of Masset and 50 kilometres north of Sandspit—has long been working over-capacity with its single 3553-metre-long runway. Haida Gwaii has eleven other airports, of course, but none others capable of supporting more than general aviation.