Misplaced Pages

#240759

80-530: The Mamalilikala ( Mamalelequala , Mamalilikulla , Mamalillaculla , Mamaleleqala ) are an indigenous nation, a part of the Kwakwaka'wakw , in central British Columbia , on northern Vancouver Island . Their main village was Memkumlis ('Mimkwamlis), located on Village Island . Their Indian Act band government is the Mamalilikulla-Qwe'Qwa'Sot'Em First Nation . This British Columbia -related article

160-505: A Chimakuan -speaking people. Their traditional territory is in the western Olympic Peninsula, around the Quillayute and Hoh Rivers . The Willapa people are a traditionally Athabaskan -speaking people of southwestern Washington. Their territory was between Willapa Bay (named after them) and the prairie lands around the head of the Chehalis and Cowlitz Rivers . A related people, known as

240-588: A Feast. Professionals existed for some communities, but music is taught and then rehearsed. For some nations, the tradition was those who made musical errors were punished, usually through shaming. Employing octave singing, but rather than running up and down the scale, it is not uncommon to jump notes and go from bottom to top or top to bottom in a couple of notes. Vocal Rhythmic patterns are often complex and run counter to rigid percussion beats. The tribes would dance in groups in circles. The creation of beautiful and practical objects (for all tribal communities) served as

320-409: A forum to display wealth within a tribe. In the potlatch ceremony, the chief would give highly elaborate gifts to visiting peoples to establish his power and prestige, and by accepting these gifts the visitors conveyed their approval of the chief. There were also great feasts and displays of conspicuous consumption, such as the burning of articles, or throwing things into the sea, purely as a display of

400-614: A language related to Heiltsuk , Wuikyala or Oowekyala (they are dialects of a language that has no independent name; linguists refer to it as Heiltsuk-Oweekyala). Together with the Heiltsuk and Haisla, they were once incorrectly known as the Northern Kwakiutl because of their language's close relationship with Kwakʼwala . Greatly reduced in numbers today, like other coastal peoples they were master carvers and painters. They had an elaborate ritual and clan system. The focus of their territory

480-536: A means of transmitting stories, history, wisdom and property from generation to generation. Art provided Indigenous people with a tie to the land by depicting their histories on totem poles the Big (Plank) Houses of the Pacific Northwest coast – the symbols depicted were a constant reminder of their birthplaces, lineages and nations. Due to the abundance of natural resources and the affluence of most Northwest tribes, there

560-576: A numerous tribe" but instead found "only of three men, three women" as well as the oldest of the men "marked with the small-pox", when referring to the Tlingit people in the North West Coast. Oral traditions of various tribes in the Pacific Northwest also refer to an epidemic of smallpox on the populations. There are many theories to how smallpox arrived in the Pacific Northwest. One theory is that an outbreak in central Mexico in 1779 spread north and infected

640-609: A series of disasters befell the people, a chief led a migration away from the cursed land to the coast, where they founded Kitkatla Village , the first of three Southern Tsimshian villages. Kitkatla is still considered to be the most conservative of the Tsimshian villages. The Nisga'a and Gitxsan remained in the upper Skeena region (above the canyon) near the Nass River and forks of the Skeena respectively, but other Tsimshian chiefs moved down

720-475: A variety of activities was not uncommon prior to contact, and for some duration after contact into the 1920s. A battle ensued at Dungeness Spit near Port Townsend, WA where some Tsimshian were camped along the shore. One woman survived and was rescued by a lighthouse operator who later married her. The Tsimshian have a matrilineal kinship system, with a societal structure based on a tribe, house group and clan system. Descent and property are transmitted through

800-732: Is a First Nations government in northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia , Canada, their main community is the community of Alert Bay in the Queen Charlotte Strait region. There are approximately 225 members of the Daʼnaxdaʼxw Nation. The Nation is a member of the Kwakiutl District Council and, for treaty negotiation purposes, the Winalagalis Treaty Group which includes three other members of

880-751: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This First Nations in Canada –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast At one point, the region had the highest population density of a region inhabited by Indigenous peoples in Canada . The Pacific Northwest Coast at one time had the most densely populated areas of indigenous people ever recorded in Canada. The land and waters provided rich natural resources through cedar and salmon, and highly structured cultures developed from relatively dense populations. Within

SECTION 10

#1732855901241

960-656: Is derived from the Haisla word x̣àʼisla or x̣àʼisəla , "(those) living at the rivermouth, living downriver". The Heiltsuk ( / ˈ h aɪ l t s ʊ k / HYLE -tsuuk ) are an indigenous Nation of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu . The Heiltsuk are the descendants of a number of tribal groups who came together in Bella Bella in

1040-768: Is distinguished from the Chinook Jargon , which was partly based upon it, and is often called "Chinook." Close allies of the Nuu-chah-nulth , they are also a canoe people, and pre-European contact, Chinook Jargon arose as a trading language incorporating both Chinookan and Wakashan vocabulary. Recent attempts to keep Chinook Jargon or Chinook Wawa alive are helped by the corpus of songs and stories dictated by Victoria Howard to Melville Jacobs , published by him as Clackamas Chinook Texts. Selections from that corpus were also published as Clackamas Chinook Performance Art. The Chinookan peoples practiced slavery, likely learned from

1120-460: Is in the Pacific Northwest on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In pre-contact and early post-contact times, the number of nations was much greater, but as in the rest of the region, smallpox and other consequences of contact resulted in the disappearance of some groups, and the absorption of others into neighbouring groups. They were among the first Pacific peoples north of California to come into contact with Europeans. Competition between Spain and

1200-563: Is now spoken by less than 5% of the population—about 250 people. Today 17 separate tribes make up the Kwakwakaʼwakw, who historically spoke the common language of Kwakʼwala . Some Kwakwakaʼwakw groups are now extinct. Kwakʼwala is a Northern Wakashan language , a grouping shared with Haisla, Heiltsuk and Oowekyala. The Nuu-chah-nulth ( / n uː ˈ tʃ ɑː n ʊ l θ / noo- CHAH -nuulth ; Salishan: [nuːt͡ʃaːnˀuɬ] ) are an Indigenous people in Canada. Their traditional home

1280-525: Is quite different from that of their coastal neighbours, though it contains a large number of Wakashan loan words. They are believed to have been more connected to Interior Salish peoples, before Athabaskan -speaking groups now inland from them spread southwards, cutting the Nuxalk off from their linguistic relatives. The Wuikinuxv , also known as the Owekeeno or Rivers Inlet people (after their location), speak

1360-610: The The Tsimshian wanted to preserve their villages and fishing sites on the Skeena and Nass Rivers as early as 1879. They were not able to begin negotiating a treaty with the Canadian government until July 1983. A decade later, fourteen tribes united to negotiate under the collective name of the Tsimshian Tribal Council . A framework agreement was signed in 1997. Due to litigation by one community for commercial fisheries rights,

1440-566: The ANSCA. They do not have an associated Native Corporation, although Tsimshian in Alaska may be shareholders of the Sealaska Corporation . The Annette Islands Reserve was the only location in Alaska allowed to maintain fish traps according to traditional rights. The use of these were otherwise banned when Alaska became a state in 1959. The traps were used to gather fish for food for people living on

1520-691: The Copper River Delta north of the Alaska Panhandle . The vast majority currently live near the Alaskan city of Cordova . The Tlingit ( / ˈ k l ɪ ŋ k ɪ t / KLINK -it , / ˈ t l ɪ ŋ ɡ ɪ t / ; the latter is considered inaccurate) are one of the furthest north indigenous nations in the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their autonym is Lingít [ɬɪŋkɪ́t] , meaning "Human being". The Russian name for them, Koloshi ,

1600-574: The Gitxsan and Nisga'a as Tsimshian, because of apparent linguistic affinities. The three were all referred to as "Coast Tsimshian", even though some communities were not coastal. These three groups, however, are separate nations. Tsimshian translates to "Inside the Skeena River " At one time the Tsimshian lived on the upper reaches of the Skeena River near present-day Hazelton , British Columbia. According to southern Tsimshian oral history , after

1680-656: The North Straits Salish -speaking peoples in and around Victoria , the Halkomelem -speaking peoples in and around Vancouver , and the Lushootseed -speaking peoples in and around Seattle . Pre-European contact, the Coast Salish numbered in the tens of thousands, and as such were one of the most populous groups on the northwest coast The Chimakum people were a Chimakuan -speaking people whose traditional territory lay in

SECTION 20

#1732855901241

1760-533: The Salish Sea in 2010. The Coast Salish cultures differ considerably from those of their northern neighbours. One branch, the Bella Coola, feature a patrilineal, not matrilineal, system. As a whole, the Coast Salish tribes generally have both a matrilineal and patrilineal system. They are also one of the few peoples on the coast whose traditional territories coincide with contemporary major metropolitan areas, namely

1840-563: The Shoshone in 1781, allowing the disease to spread into the lower Columbia River and Strait of Georgia via trade between the Flathead , Nez Perce , Walla Walla , and other various tribes. Spanish expeditions to the Northwest Coast from Mexico in 1774, 1775, and 1779 are also attributed to spreading smallpox to the local tribes in the area, with many documented outbreaks correlating to where

1920-517: The Sitka Tribe of Alaska are of Tsimshian heritage. Tsimshian society is matrilineal kinship -based, which means identity, clans and property pass through the maternal line. Their moiety -based societal structure is further divided into sub clans for certain lineages. The Tsimshian language has some 27 different terms for 'chief' likely because it is a stratified and ranked society. Early Euro-Canadian anthropologists and linguists had classified

2000-538: The yaawk (feast) for one specific event. Today in Tsimshian culture, the potlatch is held to honour deaths, burials, and succession to name-titles. The Tsimshian have four different types of feasts. The feast system is the agency for social reproduction, expression of law, the transmission of knowledge, and demonstration of the obligations for chiefs to provide stewardship for resources and attending to needs of communities. The planning and delivery of feast events requires very specific protocols, including those required for

2080-572: The 'nine tribes.' The Tsimshian are one of the largest First Nations peoples in northwest British Columbia. Some Tsimshian migrated to the Annette Islands in Alaska, and today approximately 1,450 Alaska Tsimshian people are enrolled in the federally recognized Metlakatla Indian Community , sometimes also called the Annette Island Reserve . The Tsimshian honor the traditional Tlingit name of Taquan for this recent location. Some citizens of

2160-459: The 19th century, epidemics of infectious disease contracted from Europeans ravaged their communities, as the First Nations had no acquired immunity to these diseases. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic killed many of the Tsimshian people. Altogether, one in four Tsimshian died in a series of at least three large-scale outbreaks. In 1835, the total population of the Tsimshian peoples

2240-520: The 19th century. They generally prefer the autonym Heiltsuk . Anthropology labelled them the Bella Bella, which is how they are more widely known. The Nuxalk (pronounced [nuχalk] ), also known as the Bella Coola, are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast , as well as the furthest north of the Coast Salish cultures. Linguists have classified their Salishan language as independent of both Interior and Coast Salish language groups. It

2320-648: The Clatskanie ( / ˈ k l æ t s k ɪ n aɪ / ) or Tlatskani, lived on the south side of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon . The Chinookan peoples were once one of the most powerful and populous groups of tribes on the southern part of the Northwest Coast. Their territories flank the mouth of the Columbia River and stretch up that river in a narrow band adjacent to that river, as far as Celilo Falls . Their group of dialects are known as Chinookan . It

2400-483: The Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast, the music varies in function and expression. Though some groups have more cultural differences than the rest (like the Coast Salish and the more northern nations), there remain many similarities. Some instruments used by the Indigenous were hand drums made of animal hides, plank drums, log drums, box drums, along with whistlers, wood clappers, and rattles. A great deal of

2480-723: The Kwakiutl District Council (the Quatsino First Nation , the Gwaʼsala-ʼNakwaxdaʼxw Nations , and the Tlatlasikwala Nation ). The area referred to as the Northwest Coast has a very long history of human occupation, exceptional linguistic diversity, population density and cultural and ceremonial development. Noted by anthropologists for its complexity, there is emerging research that the economies of these people were more complex and intensive than

Mamalilikala - Misplaced Pages Continue

2560-547: The North Coast of British Columbia, and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island . There are about 10,000 Tsimshian, of whom about 1,300 live in Alaska. Succession in Tsimshian society is matrilineal, and one's place in society was determined by one's clan or phratry (defined as four equal parts). Four main Tsimshian clans form the basic phratry. The Laxsgiik (Eagle Clan) and Ganhada (Raven Clan) form one half. Gispwudwada (Killer Whale Clan) and Laxgibuu (Wolf Clan) form

2640-453: The Northwest Coast harvested root crops through a process of digging and tilling. Using a digging stick made from hard wood, First Nations people would work the ground between tree roots and in bulb and rhizome patches, which loosened the compacted soil. Loosened soils made it easier to remove root crops whole and undamaged, and allowed roots, bulbs and rhizomes to grow more freely and abundantly with increased production. Native peoples of

2720-517: The Nuu-chah-nulth as it was more common to the north, and cranial deformation . Those without flattened heads were considered to be beneath or servile to those who had undergone the procedure as infants. One likely reason for the cultural prominence of the Chinookan peoples was their strategic position along the Columbia River , which acted as a massive trade corridor, as well as near Celilo Falls ,

2800-559: The Nuu-chah-nulth. Their territory is concentrated in the southern portion of Vancouver Island. The Makah are a Southern Wakashan people and are closely related to the Nuu-chah-nulth . They are also noted as whalers . Their territory is around the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula . The Coast Salish are the largest of the southern groups. They are a loose grouping of many tribes with numerous distinct cultures and languages. Territory claimed by Coast Salish peoples spans from

2880-412: The Pacific Northwest also used to eat a variety of fruit and berries. A favorite food was the salmonberry Rubus spectabilis , which derives its name from the fact that it was traditionally eaten with salmon and salmon roe. Blackberries Rubus , and evergreen huckleberries Vaccinium ovatum (which was eaten fresh or dried and made into cakes) were also popular. Red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium

2960-455: The Pacific Northwest by European and American migrants. In current times the political and current context of life for these indigenous peoples varies, especially considering their relationship to Canada and the United States. In Canada Indigenous peoples are one of the fastest growing groups with a young and increasing population. Significant issues persist as a result of colonial laws and

3040-501: The Pacific Northwest, many different nations developed, each with their own distinct history, culture, and society. Some cultures in this region were very similar and share certain elements, such as the importance of salmon to their cultures, while others differed. Prior to contact, and for a brief time after colonization, some of these groups regularly conducted war against each other through raids and attacks. Through warfare they gathered captives for slavery . The Eyak people reside in

3120-496: The Queen Charlotte Islands) also share a common border with other Indigenous peoples, such as the Tlingit and the Tsimshian. The Haida were also famous for their long-distance raiding and slaving, going often to California for trading. The Tsimshian ( / ˈ s ɪ m ʃ i ə n / SIM -shee-ən ), translated as "People Inside the Skeena River ," are indigenous people who live around Terrace and Prince Rupert on

3200-602: The Skeena River", were known with the Nisga'a as Interior Tsimshian. They speak a closely related language to Nisga'a, though both are related to Coast Tsimshian . This is the English term for Tsimshian spoken on the coast. Although inland, their culture is part of the Northwest Coast culture area, and they share many common characteristics, including the clan system, an advanced art style, and war canoes. They share an historic alliance with

3280-781: The Spanish made landfall. Another theory describes the outbreak originating in the Kamchatka Peninsula in 1769 and spreading via Russian explorers to South Alaska and the Aleutians , thus through the Alaska panhandle and down the Pacific Coast. There were a number of later smallpox epidemics, such as the devastating 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic . Due to the native population having no prior exposure to Old World diseases, local tribes may have lost as much as 90% of their population. This depopulation enabled an easier colonization of

Mamalilikala - Misplaced Pages Continue

3360-526: The Tillamook language was a Coast Salish language, it was somewhat divergent from its more northerly cousins; likewise, the Tillamook culture was substantially different from that of other Coast Salish cultures, apparently influenced by its southern neighbors. They, and their southern neighbors, were less reliant on salmon runs and more reliant on fish trapping in estuaries, hunting, and shellfish gathering. The Daʼnaxdaʼxw Nation , or Da'naxda'xw/Awaetlatla Nation

3440-446: The Tsimshian harvested the abundant sea life, especially salmon . The Tsimshian became seafaring people, like the Haida . Salmon continues to be at the center of their nutrition, despite large-scale commercial fishing in the area. Due to this abundant food source, the Tsimshian developed permanent towns. They lived in large longhouses , made from cedar house posts and panels to withstand

3520-604: The United Kingdom over control of Nootka Sound led to a bitter international dispute around 1790, which was settled when Spain agreed to abandon its claim of exclusivity to the North Pacific coast, and to pay damages for British ships seized during the dispute. The Nuu-chah-nulth speak a Southern Wakashan language and are closely related to the Makah and Ditidaht. The Ditidaht are a Southern Wakashan speaking people related to

3600-463: The accompaniment of any person or drum. Usually slow in tempo and accompanied by a drum. Principal function of music in this area is spiritual; music honors the Earth, Creator, Ancestors, all aspects of the supernatural world. Sacred songs are not often shared with the wider world. Women and men, families own their own songs as property which can be inherited, sold or given as a gift to a prestigious guest at

3680-565: The area of Port Townsend . Beset by warfare from surrounding Salish peoples, their last major presence in the region was eradicated by the Suquamish under Chief Seattle in the mid-19th century. Some survivors were absorbed by neighbouring Salish peoples, while some moved to join the Quileute on the southeast side of the Olympic Peninsula. The Quileute ( / ˈ k w ɪ l i uː t / ) are

3760-641: The area of forest conservation. The vast forests of cedar and spruce where the Haida make their home are on pre-glacial land, which is believed to be almost 14,000 years old. The Haida were widely known for their art and architecture, both of which focused on the creative embellishment of wood. They decorated utilitarian objects with depictions of supernatural and other beings in a highly conventionalized style. Haida communities located in Prince of Wales Island , Alaska and Haida Gwaii , British Columbia (previously referred to as

3840-659: The berries of Vaccinium Vitis-idaea ssp. minus as food. The Tsimshian people of British Columbia encompass fifteen tribes: Some of the Chiefs of these nine tribes happened to be located at Fort Simpson (later Port Simpson, later Lax Kw'alaams , British Columbia)** Giluts'aaw when the Indian Agent assigned reserve communities. Other Chiefs were located at the mission created community of Metlakatla , with some subsequently migrating to Metlakatla, Alaska , newest tribe, with lineages from all Tsimshian tribes. The Tsimshian clans are

3920-566: The coast. " the Indian history of British Columbia... began at least a hundred centuries before the Province itself was born...." Wilson Duff On the northwest coast of North America, the mild climate and abundant natural resources made possible the rise of a complex Aboriginal culture. The people who lived in what are today British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon were able to obtain a good living without much effort. They had time and energy to devote to

4000-546: The community reservation status, which it did in the late 19th century. In 1895, the BC Tsimshian population stood at 3,550, while the Alaska Tsimshian population had dropped to 465 by 1900. Some of the Tsimshian had returned south to their homelands on the Skeena. After this low-water point, the Tsimshian population began to grow again, eventually to reach modern numbers comparable to the 1835 population estimate. However,

4080-455: The development of fine arts and crafts and to religious and social ceremonies. The indigenous populations were devastated by epidemics of infectious diseases, especially smallpox , brought in by European explorers and traders. Prior to European colonization, various reports from European explorers describe the tribes in the area bearing signs of smallpox . Nathaniel Portlock , a British ship's captain, described as having "expected to have seen

SECTION 50

#1732855901241

4160-469: The diet of the Northwest Native Americans was the bulb Camassia , a member of the asparagus family. Indigenous peoples engaged in the active management and cultivation of camassia by clearing land, by tilling and weeding, and by planting bulbs. Camas plots were harvested by individuals or kin-groups, who were recognized as a particular plot's cultivators or stewards. Indigenous peoples of

4240-432: The dried or smoked salmon over the winter, so the first fresh fish caught in the spring was welcomed with great ceremony. Hunting, both on land and sea, was also an important source of food. At sea this involved hunting whales, sea lion, porpoise, seal and sea otter, while deer, moose and elk were pursued on land. The plentiful supply of all these animals meant that the tribes became prosperous. The most important plant in

4320-735: The environment around them in order to encourage greater production of a resource for sustained harvesting. The Pacific salmon in particular played a central role in the diet and culture of the Northwest, so much so that the Native Nations of the region define themselves as the Salmon People. The salmon were caught with hook and line or small nets, and then pierced with cedar skewers and roasted or smoked over open pit fires. Other methods of catching them could also be used however, such as traps, baskets, spears and lures. The tribe would have to rely on

4400-617: The federal government forced a confidentiality clause against other communities and caused dissolution of the main treaty group and subsequently the TTC. A subset of the Tsimshian First Nations continues to negotiate with the BC Treaty Commission to reach an Agreement-in-Principle that has alienated most members. The Tsimshian speak a language, called Sm'algyax , which translates as "real or true tongue". The Tsimshian also speak

4480-420: The great wealth of the chief. Groups of dancers put on elaborate dances and ceremonies. These dancers were members of secret "dancing societies". Watching these performances was considered an honor. Potlatches were held for several reasons: the confirmation of a new chief; coming of age; tattooing or piercing ceremonies; initiation into a secret society; marriages; the funeral of a chief; and battle victory. Among

4560-467: The guests. It is untoward to hold out one's hand while payments (also known as 'gifts' by external observers) are being distributed. The Tsimshian have maintained their fishing and hunting lifestyle (although constrained by colonialism and declining fish and animal population abundances), art and culture, and are working to revitalize the common use of their language. Artists have excelled in traditional mediums and contemporary forms with pieces spread around

4640-477: The instruments were used mostly in the potlatch , but also carried over in to other festivities throughout the year. The songs employed are used with dancing, although it is also for celebration, which at times may not be accompanied by dancing. Most singing is community based. There are some solo parts, often the lead singer would begin in the first line of each round of a song, but not long solos. For some ceremonies, solo songs would be used by men and women without

4720-445: The longest continuously inhabited site in the Americas, used as a fishing site and trading hub for 15,000 years by a wide range of indigenous peoples. The Tillamook or Nehalem peoples were a Coast Salishan -speaking group of tribes living roughly between Tillamook Head and Cape Meares on the northern Oregon Coast . The term 'Tillamook' itself is in fact an exonym, from the neighbouring Chinook-speaking Kathlamet people. Although

4800-409: The lower Skeena River when the salmon returned. Archaeological evidence shows 5,000 years of continuous habitation in the Prince Rupert region. Gitxaala might have been the first Tsimshian village contacted by Europeans when Captain Charles Duncan and James Colnett arrived in 1787 although Russian fur traders may have visited northern groups earlier. The confluence of the Skeena and Bulkley Rivers

4880-730: The maternal line. Hereditary chiefs obtain their rights through their maternal line through their mother's brother. Although it is inherited the protege must be trained for proper behavior and groomed well for specific obligations. No lineage should be sullied by inappropriate behaviors of high-ranking members. The marriage ceremony was an extremely formal affair, several prolonged and sequential ceremonies. Arranged marriages and births were common to protect rights of access to territories and resources. Some cultural taboos have related to prohibiting women and men from eating improper foods during and after childbirth. Several taboos still exist and are actively practiced. Like all Northwest Coastal peoples,

SECTION 60

#1732855901241

4960-439: The neighboring Wetʼsuwetʼen , a subgroup of the Dakelh (or Carrier people). Together they waged a battle in the courts against British Columbia known as Delgamuukw v British Columbia , which had to do with land rights. The Haisla (also Xaʼislakʼala, X̄aʼislakʼala, X̌àʼislakʼala, X̣aʼislakʼala) are an indigenous nation living at Kitamaat in the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The name Haisla

5040-436: The northern end of the Strait of Georgia , along the east side of Vancouver Island, covering most of southern Vancouver Island, all of the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast , all of Puget Sound except (formerly) for the Chimakum territory near Port Townsend , and all of the Olympic Peninsula except that of the Quileute , related to the now-extinct Chemakum. The Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound were officially united as

5120-441: The now infamous Canadian Indian residential school system . Many of the most repressive elements of the Indian Act (federal legislation governing First Nations) were removed in 1951, and the right for First Nations to vote was granted in 1960. The 1951 amendment to the Indian Act lifted the potlatch ban , though the ban was never fully effective - it had pushed traditional culture underground. Since 1951 ceremonial practices and

5200-454: The numbers of the inland Tsimshian peoples are now higher than they were historically, while those of the Southern and Coastal Tsimshian are much lower. In the 1970s, the Metlakatla Indian Community voted to retain their rights to land and water, and opted out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA); they have the only Native reservation in Alaska. The Metlakatla Tsimshian maintained their reservation status and holdings exclusive of

5280-463: The only reservation in Alaska. The Tsimshian estimate there are 45,000 Tsimshian people and approximately 10,000 members are federally registered in eight First Nations communities (including the Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, Gitxaala, Gitga'at at Hartley Bay , and Kitasoo at Klemtu ) Lax Kw'Alaams, and Metlakatla, BC . The latter two communities resulted in the colonial intersections of early settlers and consist of Tsimshian people belonging to

5360-414: The other half. Prior to European contact, marriage in Tsimshian society could not take place within a half-group, for example between a Wolf and a Killer Whale. It was considered to be incest even if there was no blood relationship. Marriages were only arranged between people from clans in different halves: for example, between a Killer Whale and a Raven or Eagle. The Gitxsan or Gitksan, meaning "people of

5440-461: The potlatch have re-emerged widely along the coast. One development in recent times is the revival of ocean-going cedar canoes. Beginning in the late 1980s with early Haida and Heiltsuk canoes, the revival spread quickly after the Paddle to Seattle in 1989 and the 1993 'Qatuwas canoe festival in Bella Bella . Many other journeys to different places along the coast have occurred; these voyages have come to be known as Tribal Canoe Journeys . Both

5520-587: The reservation. Legally the community was required to use the traps at least once every three years or lose the right permanently. They stopped the practice early in the 2000s and lost their right to this traditional way of fishing. The majority of Tsimshian still live in the lower Skeena River watershed near Prince Rupert , as well as northern coastal BC. Some Tsimshian moved south into the Columbia River Basin mid-nineteenth century for picking hops and other agricultural crops. Many Tsimshian have moved into Seattle region from both AK and BC. Long distance canoe travel for

5600-502: The river and occupied all the lands of the lower Skeena valley. Over time, these groups developed a new dialect of their ancestral language and came to regard themselves as a distinct population, the Tsimshian-proper. They continued to share the rights and customs of those who are known as the Gitxsan, their kin on the upper Skeena. The Tsimshian maintained winter villages in and around the islands of Prince Rupert Harbour and Venn Pass (Metlakatla). They returned to their summer villages along

5680-560: The sea and the land provided important sources of food and raw materials to Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast, and many of these resources needed to be managed to ensure continual harvest. Historians and ethnographers provide evidence of cultivation practices and environment management strategies that have been used by First Nations peoples for centuries along the Northwest Coast. Practices like digging and tilling, pruning, controlled burning , fertilizing, streamscaping and habitat creation allowed Indigenous groups to intentionally manage

5760-450: The wet climate. These were very large and usually housed an entire extended family. Tsimshian religion centered on the "Lord of Heaven", who aided people in times of need by sending supernatural servants to earth to aid them. The Tsimshian believed that charity and purification of the body (either by cleanliness or fasting ) was the route to the afterlife . The Tsimshian engage in the feast system or potlatch , which they refer to as

5840-410: The world. These artisans practice the tradition of story telling with their chosen mediums. Like other coastal peoples, the Tsimshian fashioned most of their goods out of western red cedar , especially its bark . It could be fashioned into tools, clothing, roofing, armour, building materials, and canoe skins. They used cedar in their Chilkat weaving , which they are credited with inventing. They use

5920-553: Was Owikeno Lake , a freshwater fjord above a short stretch of river at the head of Rivers Inlet. The Kwakwakaʼwakw are an indigenous people, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the mainland. The autonym they prefer is Kwakwakaʼwakw . Their Indigenous language, part of the Wakashan languages family, is Kwakʼwala . The name Kwakwakaʼwakw means "speakers of Kwakʼwala". The language

6000-457: Was both eaten and used as fish bait on account of its resemblance to salmon eggs. The Oregon grape Mahonia nervosa was sometimes eaten, mixed with sweeter berries to counteract its sour flavor. A potlatch is a highly complex event where people gather to commemorate a specific event (such as the raising of a totem pole or the appointment/election of a new chief). These potlatches would usually be held in competition with one another, providing

6080-533: Was derived from an Aleut term for the labret ; and the related German name, Koulischen , may be encountered in older historical literature. The Tlingit are a matrilineal society. They developed a complex hunter-gatherer culture in the temperate rainforest of the Alaska Panhandle and adjoining inland areas of present-day British Columbia. The Haida people ( / ˈ h aɪ d ə / HY -də ) are well known as skilled artisans of wood, metal and design. They have also shown much perseverance and resolve in

6160-541: Was estimated at 8,500. By 1885, the population had dropped to 4,500, 817 of whom moved to Alaska two years later following Missionary William Duncan. In the 1880s the Anglican missionary William Duncan , along with a group of the Tsimshian, left Metlakatla, British Columbia and requested settlement on Annette Island from the U.S. government . After gaining approval, the group founded New Metlakatla on Annette Island in southern Alaska. Duncan appealed to Congress to grant

6240-455: Was formerly the site of the Tsimshian village of Kitanmaks and became a new European settlement of Skeena Forks (today known as Hazelton). When the Hudson's Bay Company moved their fort to modern-day Port Simpson in 1834, nine Tsimshian tribal chiefs moved to the surrounding area for trade advantage. Many of the Tsimshian peoples in Canada still live in these regions. Throughout the second half of

6320-677: Was plenty of leisure time to create art. Many works of art served practical purposes, such as clothing, tools, weapons of war and hunting, transportation, cooking, and shelter; but others were purely aesthetic. Tsimshian The Tsimshian ( / ˈ s ɪ m ʃ i ən / ; Tsimshian : Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen also once known as the Chemmesyans ) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert , and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island ,

6400-413: Was previously assumed. Coast Salish peoples' had complex land management practices linked to ecosystem health and resilience. Forest gardens on Canada's northwest coast included crabapple, hazelnut, cranberry, wild plum, and wild cherry species. Many groups have First Generation Stories - family stories that tell of the origin of the group, and often of humans themselves arising in specific locations along

#240759