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37-697: The Wetʼsuwetʼen are a branch of the Dakelh or Carrier people, and in combination with the Babine people have been referred to as the Western Carrier. They speak Witsuwitʼen, a dialect of the Babine-Witsuwitʼen language which, like its sister language Carrier , is a member of the Athabaskan family. Their oral history , called kungax , recounts that their ancestral village, Dizkle or Dzilke, once stood upstream from

74-588: A Synaeresis of uda ukelh and ne ). The suffixes -xwoten , “people of” or -t’en , “people” to village names or locations to refer to specific groups (e.g., Tl’azt’en, Wet’suwet’en). the Wetʼsuwetʼen (Whutsot'en, ᗘᙢᗥᐣ , "People of the Wet'sinkwha/Wa Dzun Kwuh River, i.e. Bulkley River", lit: "People of the blue and green River"; also known as Western Carrier ) and Babine (Nadot'en) (Nadot'enne, ᘇᑎᗥᐣ , "Lake Babine People"; also known as Northern Carrier ) peoples are

111-777: A branch of the Dakelh/Carrier people, and have been referred to as the Western Carrier . They speak Witsuwitʼen or Babine/Nedut'en , dialects of the Babine-Witsuwitʼen language which, like its sister Dakelh language , is a member of the Central British Columbia branch of the Northern Athabaskan languages . They belong to the Northern Athabascan or Dene peoples ( Dené is the common Athabaskan word for "people"). Dakelh territories called Keyoh , include

148-409: A common English name derived from French explorers naming of the people. Dakelh people speak two related languages. One, Babine-Witsuwit'en is sometimes referred to as Northern Carrier . The other includes what are sometimes referred to as Central Carrier and Southern Carrier . The "Dakelh / Dakelh-ne" ( ᑕᗸᒡ , people who “travel upon water”, lit. "people who travel by boat early in the morning",

185-531: A large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia , Canada. Another name the Dakelh/Carrier call themselves is Yinka Dene ("the people on the land"), the Babine-Witsuwitʼen-speaking bands prefer the equivalent Yinka Whut'en ("the people on the land"). The Dakelh people are a First Nations people of the Central Interior of British Columbia , Canada, for whom Carrier has been

222-651: A non-profit society, directed by a Board of Directors, with the goal of being a central office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen Nation. It was founded as an independent office in 1994, after the splitting of the Gitxsan -Wet’suwet’en Tribal Council, which had represented the two nations during Delgamuukw v British Columbia . As of April 2020, the Board of Directors was composed of seven house chiefs (Naʼmoks, Knedebeas, Madeek, Samooh, Kloum Khun, Wah Tah Kʼeght, and Hagwilnegh). As of 2009,

259-536: A series of independent Houses (Wilp), each with their own High Chief, and traditional territories and fishing sites. Marriage within a clan is forbidden. There are approximately 5,000 people British Columbia wide with many living in traditional Gitxsan territory. Many also live elsewhere in British Columbia, in places such as Terrace , Smithers , and in Vancouver , as well as around the world. Eighty per cent of

296-472: A strong decoction of the root of Orthilia as an eyewash. A full list of their ethnobotany can be found at http://naeb.brit.org/uses/tribes/27/ , http://naeb.brit.org/uses/tribes/28/ , and http://naeb.brit.org/uses/tribes/29/ . In the late 1940s, University of British Columbia professor Charles Edward Borden shifted his attention toward urgent salvage archaeology in Nechako Canyon after learning of

333-524: Is led by a single house chief, and also includes several sub-chiefs (also referred to as "wing chiefs"). Hereditary chief names (both house chiefs and sub-chiefs) are usually passed on to a successor chosen by the incumbent name holder, more often than not through family lines. Clan membership is Matrilineal , passed from mother to children. In Witsuwit'en, male hereditary chiefs are referred to as dinï zeʼ , and female hereditary chiefs are referred to as tsʼakë zeʼ . The house groups and house chiefs of each of

370-524: Is spelled in numerous ways. Witsuwitʼen is the correct spelling in the writing system in general use. In non-technical publications, it is usually misspelled as Witsʼuwitʼen , Witʼsuwitʼen , Wetsʼuwetʼen , or Wetʼsuwetʼen due to the difficulty of distinguishing ejective [ts] from plain [ts]. Official spellings with <tʼs> are used in the names of the Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation and the Office of

407-796: The Bulkley Valley , and the region along the West Road River , west to the Hazelton Mountains and the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains , including the Kluskus Lakes ( Lhoosk'uz – "Rocky Mountain whitefish place"), Ootsa Lake ( Oosa Bunk'ut – "bucket lake"), the Quanchus and Fawnie Ranges , and Cheslatta Lake ( Tsetl'adak Bunk'ut – "Peak Rock Lake"). Dakelh territories are for

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444-638: The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council : Four bands belong to the Carrier Chilcotin Tribal Council : The other bands are independent. In some of the literature Dakelh people are known by the French term Porteurs . Another term sometimes seen is Taculli along with variant spellings. This is a linguistically naive adaptation of the phonetic notation used by Father Adrien-Gabriel Morice . The first written reference to Dakelh people, in

481-777: The Interior Tsimshian , a term which also included the Nisga'a , the Gitxsan's neighbours to the north. Their neighbours to the west are the Tsimshian (a.k.a. the Coast Tsimshian) while to the east the Wetʼsuwetʼen , an Athapaskan people, with whom they have a long and deep relationship and shared political and cultural community. Gitxsan are a matrilineal society that consists of Frog, Eagle, Wolf, and Fireweed Clans . Each clan consists of

518-564: The Bulkley Canyon. This cluster of cedar houses on both sides of the river is said to have been abandoned because of an omen of impending disaster. The exact location of the village has been lost. The neighbouring Gitxsan people of the Hazelton area have a similar tale, though the village in their version is named Dimlahamid (Temlahan). The word Wetʼsuwetʼen ( English: / w ɛ t ˈ s oʊ ɪ t ɪ n / wet- SOH -ih-tin )

555-763: The Dakelh are not very familiar with the foothills because that area in recent times has been occupied by the Cree (Dushina, ᑐᙘᘇ ). Part of the Coast Mountains and Hazelton Mountains fall within Wit'suwit'en territory. Farther south, 'Ulkatcho people share the Coast Range with the Coast Salish Nuxalkmc (Bella Coola) and the northern Chilcotin Plateau with Northern Athabaskan speaking strong warrior nation (with political influence from

592-804: The Dakelh, unlike the Sekani, participated in trade with the coast, which required packing loads of goods over the Grease Trails . Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan and Kitksan ) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English ( Git : means "people of" and Xsan : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory encompasses approximately 35,000 km (14,000 sq mi) of land, from

629-608: The OW , is a political organization governed by the hereditary chiefs of the Wetʼsuwetʼen people, based in Smithers, British Columbia . The Office takes part in the BC Treaty Process through the two Indian Act band governments (Hagwilget and Witset First Nations) which contain the 13 hereditary chieftaincies. The Office is not a tribal council, nor a traditional governing body, but rather

666-625: The Similkameen region in the south (of British Columbia), the Pacific coast in the west, and the Rocky Mountains in the east) Tsilhqot'in (Chilkot'in, ᗘᙢᗥᐣ ). The traditional Dakelh way of life is based on a seasonal round, with the greatest activity in the summer when berries are gathered and fish caught and preserved. The mainstay of the economy is centered on harvesting activities within each family keyoh ( ᗸᘏᑋ , territory, village, trapline) under

703-650: The Wetʼsuwetʼen . In point of fact the [ts] is not ejective. Older spellings include Hotsotʼen and Hwotsotʼen . Whutsowhutʼen is the Carrier name in the Carrier Linguistic Committee writing system in general use for that language. The endonym Wetʼsuwetʼen means "People of the Wa Dzun Kwuh River (Bulkley River)". In the traditional Wetʼsuwetʼen governance system, there are five clans, which are further subdivided into 13 house groups. Each house group

740-456: The advent of the fur trade , such trapping is a minor activity. With the exception of berries and the sap and cambium of the lodgepole pine , plants play a relatively minor role as food, though the sacredness of plants are appreciated by Dakelh people. The Dakelhe are familiar with and occasionally use a variety of edible plants. Plants are used extensively for medicine. Winter activity is more limited, with some hunting, trapping, and fishing under

777-566: The area along Fraser River ( Lhtakoh – "rivers within one another" ) from north of Prince George ( Lheidli – "confluence") to south of Quesnel and including the Barkerville - Wells area, the Nechako Country , the areas around Stuart Lake ( Nak'albun – "Mount Pope lake"), Trembleur Lake ( Dzinghubun – "day after lake"), Takla Lake ( Khelhghubun – "load after lake"), Fraser Lake ( Nadlehbun – "(fish) run lake"), and Babine Lake ,

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814-516: The band councils, the hereditary chiefs clarified that the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen is not a governing body, and that the authority of the band councils under the MOU would not be diminished. 55°15′00″N 127°40′00″W  /  55.25000°N 127.66667°W  / 55.25000; -127.66667 Dakelh The Dakelh (pronounced [tákʰɛɬ] ) or Carrier are the indigenous people of

851-716: The basin of the upper Skeena River from about Legate Creek to the Skeena's headwaters and its surrounding tributaries. Part of the Tsimshianic language group , their culture is considered to be part of the civilization of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast , although their territory lies in the Interior rather than on the Coast . They were at one time also known as

888-412: The existence of this custom, the report of which is due to Father Morice. According to Lizette Hall's (1992) father, Louie-Billy Prince, who had been Father Morice's houseboy and knew him well, Father Morice pestered the Dakelh so persistently on the origin of the name that they finally told him the story about widows carrying ashes to satisfy him. An alternative hypothesis is that it refers to the fact that

925-764: The five clans, as well as the English names of the current house chiefs, can be found in the chart below. * Unist'ot'en Camp Group is affiliated with the Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House) under the Gilseyhu (Big Frog) Clan. In 1960, the Decker Lake, François Lake (later Nee-Tahi-Buhn ), Maxim Lake and Skin Tyee Bands merged to form the Omineca Band. In 1984, the Omineca Band divided into the Nee-Tahi-Buhn and Browman (or Broman) Lake Bands,

962-532: The flooding of the area. The damming triggered "devastating changes for First Nations communities whose traditional territories lay in their path, including the destruction of Aboriginal gravesites, territories, livelihoods, and archaeological sites." In 1957, Alcan opened the spillway gate to Skin's Lake, desecrating Cheslatta graves, which came to public attention during the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples . In 1951, Borden began survey and excavation of

999-399: The ice. Although many Dakelh now have jobs and otherwise participate in the non-traditional economy, fish, game, and berries still constitute a major portion of the diet. The Dakelh engaged in extensive trade with the coast along trails known as "grease trails". The items exported consisted primarily of hides, dried meat, and mats of dried berries. Imports consisted of various marine products,

1036-408: The journal of Sir Alexander MacKenzie , uses the term Nagailer . The received view of the origin of the Sekani name aɣelne for the Dakelh, of which the English name is a translation, is that it refers to the distinctive Dakelh mortuary practice in which a widow carried her husband's ashes on her back during the period of mourning. One problem for this hypothesis is that there is little evidence of

1073-653: The latter of which later became Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation . In 2000, the Skin Tyee Band separated from the Nee-Tahi-Buhn Band. The following two First Nations are members of the Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council : The following four First Nations are not affiliated with any tribal council: The Office of the Hereditary Chiefs of the Wetʼsuwetʼen , also known as the Office of the Wetʼsuwetʼen or

1110-404: The leadership of a hereditary chief, known as a Keyoh holder or keyoh-whudachun. Fish, especially the several varieties of salmon , are smoked and stored for the winter in large numbers. Hunting and trapping of deer , caribou , moose , elk , black bear , beaver , and rabbit provided meat, fur for clothing, and bone for tools. Other fur-bearing animals are trapped to some extent, but until

1147-465: The most important of which was "grease", the oil extracted from eulachons (also known as "candlefish") by allowing them to rot, adding boiling water, and skimming off the oil. This oil is extremely nutritious and, unlike many other fats, contains desirable fatty acids. Other important imports were smoked eulachons and dried red laver seaweed . "Grease" and smoked eulachons are still considered by many to be delicacies and are prized gifts from visitors from

Wetʼsuwetʼen - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-525: The most part sub-boreal forest, dotted with numerous lakes. There are numerous rivers, all ultimately draining into the Pacific Ocean , mostly via the Fraser River. The climate is continental, with cold winters during which the rivers and lakes freeze over and a short growing season. The area is hilly, with mountains of modest size. The Rocky Mountains form the eastern boundary of the Dakelh territories, but

1221-569: The organization was at Stage 4 of the BC Treaty Process. On May 14, 2020, the governments of Canada and British Columbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en, in which the Canadian and B.C. governments "recognize that Wet’suwet’en rights and title are held by Wet’suwet’en houses under their system of governance". Following concerns by leaders of

1258-544: The people living on the lands surrounding Legate creek to the Skeena headwaters are Gitxsan ('People of the River Mist') and archaeological evidence supports a continuous habitation of at least 10,000 years. Their traditional language is called Gitxsanimaax . A museum known as 'Ksan displaying some traditional and modern Gitksan art and history is located on the Gitanmaax reserve near Hazelton . The aboriginal title rights of

1295-588: The planned Kemano reservoir that would flood the canyon, a large part of Dakelh hunting territory in Tweedsmuir Park . In 1951, he received funding from Alcan and the British Columbia Ministry of Education to undertake salvage archaeology at the "Carrier Indian site". In 1951, Borden and his protégé, anthropology student Wilson Duff , located over 130 sites of importance to Cheslatta T'en history. They conducted more intensive investigations prior to

1332-524: The site and returned to work there every summer until he retired in 1970. His final article published in Science in 1979 was based on excavations of early microblade assemblages at Namu in 1977. The Carrier people speak the Carrier language , which is endangered. As an ethnic term, Carrier or Dakelh includes speakers of both the Dakelh language proper and its sister language Babine-Witsuwit'en , both of which are endangered languages . Seven bands form

1369-609: The west. The route by which Sir Alexander MacKenzie and his party reached the Pacific Ocean in 1793 in the first crossing of North America by land was, from the Fraser River westward, a grease trail. Other examples include the Cheslatta Trail and the Nyan Wheti . They use the berries of Vaccinium vitis-idaea to make jam. They take a decoction of the entire plant of Viola adunca for stomach pain. The Southern Carrier use

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