Adopted 1 October 1953 on Hydrographic Services Chart #3812.

Source: BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff, file Q.2.45.

Named by the hydrographic services in 1953 after Ohala (or Oahla), a slave girl owned by Steilta, head chief of the Masset Eagle crest. In his 1915 memoir 'In the Wake of the War Canoe,' Anglican missionary William Collison tells the story of a conflict over the ownership of certain slaves arose between Steilta and a Kaigani chief named Kinneelawash-Haung. After Steilta’s death, Collison apparently managed to negotiate a settlement between the chief’s heir and Kinneelawash-Haung that not only avoided open warfare but also transferred Ohala, who had suffered great abuse from Steilta, to the Kaigani chief, who owned a slave wishing to marry Ohala.

Source: Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009, pages 436-437.