People Group Profiles

“All nations will come and worship before you."

- Revelations 15:4

Carrier, Babine of Canada


People Group Info

Total Population: 3,000

ROP3 Code: 100695
IMB Affinity Group: American Peoples
Affinity Bloc: North American Peoples
People Cluster: North American Indigenous
Language: Babine - (bcr)
Religion: Christianity - Roman Catholic
Country of Origin: Canada

Photo courtesy of PeopleGroups.info

Majority Located Where

  , BC - 3,000

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Brief Profile

The Carrier (also known as the Dakelh) are an indigenous people of a large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Their name was derived from a First Nations custom where a widow was obliged to carry the ashes of her dead husband around with her for 3 years. Linguistically the Carrier people comprise three major subgroupings based on differences in dialect and culture: (1) Upper Carrier or Babine, located along the Bulkley River and Babine Lake in the Skeena River watershed; (2) Central Carrier in the Stuart Lake and Fraser Lake basins in the Fraser River watershed; and (3) Southern Carrier or Lower Carrier in the Blackwater River region. The Canadian census does not separate Babine, Central Carrier, and Southern Carrier speakers.

Their traditional way of life was based on a seasonal round, with the greatest activity in the summer when berries were gathered and fish caught and preserved. Although the majority of present-day Carrier people have jobs, their diet still relies upon fish, game, and berries.

Carrier religious beliefs centered arounded a great sky god and many spirits in nature which were contacted through dreams, visions, ritual, and magic. They also believed in both reincarnation and an afterlife. The Carrier are now mostly Roman Catholic in belief, if not entirely in practice.

Prayer Points

  • Pray God will work through and in the lives of the Carrier people to grow in their understanding Jesus Christ.
  • Pray that Christians will intentionally seek out the Carrier and become a light for the gospel in both word and deed.


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Other Resources

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