Like other First Nations on the coast, the Heiltsuk were subject to repeated attempts of genocide by the colonists, primarily of smallpox, that killed the majority of the population. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic alone killed about 72% of the Heiltsuk people. The population collapse caused the Heiltsuk to coalesce into fewer communities, and reduced the population to just under 225 by 1919. Like other First Nations, the expected demise of the Heiltsuk did not occur. Instead, the population rebounded following the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and is now well over 2,500.