Skidegate Cathedral

The Skidegate Cathedral (Haida: Hlg̱aagildag̱a Chāaj Nāayūu-yaay) is the largest single religious congregation and church building in the Haida Gwaii, and the headquarters of the governing body of the Haida Church, Haida Gwaii's state religion and the national religion of the Haida people, practiced by at least 90% of the total Haida population (both when referring to the inhabitants of Haida Gwaii and all Haida people around the world). Located in Skidegate, Haida Gwaii's third-most populous city, the cathedral is architecturally a blend of traditional Christian (especially Protestant) church designs and motifs and traditional Haida religious and communal structures (especially longhouses).

Construction began on the Skidegate Cathedral in 1919 and was completed in 1925; other than the engineers and skilled workers hired to design and ensure the proper construction of the cathedral, the workers who built the Skidegate Cathedral were essentially all volunteers from the Haida Church's local adherents, though several volunteers travelled from far-away communities of Haida Gwaii and even Canada. The front entrance of the Skidegate Cathedral is dominated by a large, centred totem pole which extends twice as high as the cathedral's main roof, and three-quarters as high as the cathedral bell tower built at the back entrance. The Skidegate Cathedral is the largest building in Skidegate by volume, although not the tallest, as the city centre does include a handful of high-rise buildings. Nevertheless, the cathedral, sitting as it does atop Skidegate's tallest hill overlooking most of the city below, is the most widely-visible landmark in the area and a cultural symbol of Skidegate.