The Namgis (or Nimpkish) Burial Grounds is an old native cemetery, one of the few places in coastal British Columbia where memorial totem poles remain in their original location.
The burial grounds are located at Alert Bay on Cormorant Island, which is accessed by ferry from Port McNeill, Vancouver Island. Cormorant Island is ‘Yalis (spreading leg beach), an ancient resource site traditionally used by several tribes. In 1860, ‘Yalis was renamed Alert Bay after a British naval gunship.