[2] Meaning "place of rabbits", Gitwangak was formerly called Kitwanga, with variations such as Gitwangar, Kitwangagh, or Kitwangar.

He killed a grizzly bear, lined the hide with sheets of slate, and created a simple suit of armor.

[4] Designated a national historic site in 1971, the Gitwangak hilltop fort (Ta’awdzep) was burned and abandoned about 1835.

[5] Battles were waged to control fishing sites, protect trade routes, and enhance tribal prestige.

[6] The location offered a vantage point over the adjacent Kitwankul Trail and the Kitwanga River Valley.

[7] After abandoning the fort, the inhabitants briefly moved to another village before settling at the present site by the river.

[13] During winter 1887, a measles epidemic broke out, which quickly spread because people travelled for cultural events.

[20] On reserve land at the junction of highways 37 and 16, the Kitwanga Petro-Canada provides fuel, a minor repair shop, a small restaurant, and a convenience store.

[26] At the beginning of March 1912, the eastward advance of the GTP rail head from Prince Rupert passed through Kitwanga and reached Mile 151.

[29] During the 1920s, the Canadian National Railway (CN) scheduled a longer stop for passengers to view the totem poles.

[35] In 1978, Kitwanga was one of several communities between Prince Rupert and the Alberta border, where CN eliminated the agent-operator position.

[36] In 1979, an acting conductor slipped under a boxcar during switching, which caused injuries that required one of his legs to be surgically amputated.

[63] In 1958, Western Coach Lines inaugurated a Prince Rupert–Prince George bus service,[64] which included a scheduled stop at Kitwanga.

[70] In 1992, when a tanker-trailer crashed though the roadside barrier, 45,000 litres; 12,000 US gallons (10,000 imp gal) of heavy asphalt oil spilled into the Skeena near Andimaul.

[71] Prior to ceasing all intraprovincial services in October 2018, Greyhound had eliminated the Prince Rupert–Prince George run that June.

[91] In the early 1920s, First Nations in the Kitwanga Valley ejected government census takers, threatened European settlers, and blocked visitors from passing through the area.

[93] In 1985, CN obtained a BC Supreme Court injunction to stop the band from obstructing the main line.

[97] In 1986, a gathering of hereditary chiefs at Kitwanga affirmed their intention to defy federal and provincial fishery laws regarding the protection of endangered fish stocks.

[98] Days later, Gitwangak members prevented three federal fisheries officers from entering reserve land to investigate illegal fishing.

[99] In 1990, the band blockaded a sawmill road following concerns over reduced lumber demand, which had resulted in 35 mill layoffs over a five-month period.

[102] Later that year, when three band members were charged with defying a court injunction, a five-day blockade of the CN rail line ended.

Further examples were the Gitwangak blocking the logging crews of a family who had been settlers since the 1930s and a mob forcing seniors from their freehold property.

[104] In 2002, an Edmonton resident was fined $12,000 for illegally importing tainted salmon from Kitwanga, which had been caught using an aboriginal communal licence.

The next year, the name reverted to Skeena Cellulose[110] and the insolvent group ceased operations in June but restarted in October after restructuring.

[118] During that intermediary period, Skeena received $400 million in various forms of loans from the province,[119] while Kitwanga and the associated BC mills operated intermittently.

Reopened in June 2011 to provide the raw waste material for a wood pellet plant,[125] production ceased in October, and the company filed for bankruptcy protection in December.

[141] The three local stores struggled to maintain sufficient funds to cash payroll cheques issued by the two sawmills during the early 1970s.

Consequently, the RBC Hazelton branch introduced a sub-branch at Kitwanga, which opened one day per week in the corner of a general store.

[150] Fundraising has continued with respect to a new building, which will have one bay for an ambulance and another for a firetruck, along with crew quarters and office space.

[162] Part of School District 82 Coast Mountains, Kitwanga Elementary has about 70 enrolled students of which most,[163] if not all, are indigenous.