Alfred Dudoward
Encyclopedia
Alfred Dudoward was an hereditary chief from the Tsimshian
nation in British Columbia
, Canada, who was instrumental in establishing a Methodist
mission in his community of Port Simpson (a.k.a. Fort Simpson, a.k.a. Lax Kw'alaams
), B.C.
Dudoward was a member of the Gitando
tribe, one of the nine Tsimshian tribes based in Lax Kw'alaams. His mother was Mrs. Elizabeth Lawson (d. 1903), who held the hereditary name Diiks and was also known as Elizabeth Diex. Alfred was of mixed Native and white ancestry, his father having been Félix Dudoire/Dudouaire, a French Canadian tailor in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company
at Fort Simpson. He succeeded to his maternal uncle Paul Sgagweet's hereditary name-title Sgagweet in 1887 upon his uncle's death, in accordance with the rules of matrilineal succession. This established him as chief of the Gitando tribe.
In 1871 Dudoward married Mary Catherine, later known as Kate Dudoward, who was the daughter of a Tsimshian mother and a non-Native customs officer named Holmes. Kate's mother had been killed the year before in an ambush en route from Victoria, B.C.
, to Lax Kw'alaams, where she had been traveling to assume a chieftainship for which there was no male heir. Kate assumed the chieftainship instead.
Dudoward's own mother Elizabeth Diex was referred to by one missionary as "the mother of Methodism among the Tsimpshean tribes." Diex was converted to Christianity in Victoria in 1873 during a mass revival targeting First Nations
people for conversion. When her son, Alfred Dudoward, arrived in a large war canoe to express his displeasure at this mass conversion, he soon converted as well.
After returning home, Kate and Alfred organized religious instruction in Lax Kw'alaams and lobbied the Methodist church to establish a mission there, which they eventually did, in 1874 under the Rev. Thomas Crosby
. In fact, it was the Dudowards who agitated for the Methodist church to establish a mission there.
Repeated conflicts between traditionalism and Christianity led Crosby to suspend the Dudowards' membership in the church several times, until finally the Dudowards quit and joined the Salvation Army
in 1895.
Dudoward had no (matrilineal) heirs and so adopted his own son and a niece into the House of Sgagweet in order to perpetuate the line. The son inherited the name Sgagweet and held it in 1938, when the anthropologist Viola Garfield
recorded the house's order of succession. He had designated the niece's son as his successor.
His children included the carver Charles Dudoward.
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...
nation in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada, who was instrumental in establishing a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
mission in his community of Port Simpson (a.k.a. Fort Simpson, a.k.a. Lax Kw'alaams
Lax Kw'alaams
Lax-Kw'alaams , usually called Port Simpson, is an Indigenous village community in British Columbia, Canada, not far from the city of Prince Rupert. It is the home of the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River, which are nine of the fourteen tribes of the Tsimshian nation...
), B.C.
Dudoward was a member of the Gitando
Gitando
The Gitando are the youngest of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River resident at Lax Kw'alaams , B.C. The name Gitando means the people of weirs...
tribe, one of the nine Tsimshian tribes based in Lax Kw'alaams. His mother was Mrs. Elizabeth Lawson (d. 1903), who held the hereditary name Diiks and was also known as Elizabeth Diex. Alfred was of mixed Native and white ancestry, his father having been Félix Dudoire/Dudouaire, a French Canadian tailor in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
at Fort Simpson. He succeeded to his maternal uncle Paul Sgagweet's hereditary name-title Sgagweet in 1887 upon his uncle's death, in accordance with the rules of matrilineal succession. This established him as chief of the Gitando tribe.
In 1871 Dudoward married Mary Catherine, later known as Kate Dudoward, who was the daughter of a Tsimshian mother and a non-Native customs officer named Holmes. Kate's mother had been killed the year before in an ambush en route from Victoria, B.C.
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, to Lax Kw'alaams, where she had been traveling to assume a chieftainship for which there was no male heir. Kate assumed the chieftainship instead.
Dudoward's own mother Elizabeth Diex was referred to by one missionary as "the mother of Methodism among the Tsimpshean tribes." Diex was converted to Christianity in Victoria in 1873 during a mass revival targeting First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people for conversion. When her son, Alfred Dudoward, arrived in a large war canoe to express his displeasure at this mass conversion, he soon converted as well.
After returning home, Kate and Alfred organized religious instruction in Lax Kw'alaams and lobbied the Methodist church to establish a mission there, which they eventually did, in 1874 under the Rev. Thomas Crosby
Thomas Crosby
The Rev. Thomas Crosby was an English Methodist missionary known for his work among the First Nations people of coastal British Columbia, Canada....
. In fact, it was the Dudowards who agitated for the Methodist church to establish a mission there.
Repeated conflicts between traditionalism and Christianity led Crosby to suspend the Dudowards' membership in the church several times, until finally the Dudowards quit and joined the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
in 1895.
Dudoward had no (matrilineal) heirs and so adopted his own son and a niece into the House of Sgagweet in order to perpetuate the line. The son inherited the name Sgagweet and held it in 1938, when the anthropologist Viola Garfield
Viola Garfield
Viola E. Garfield was an American anthropologist best known for her work on the social organization and plastic arts of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia and Alaska.-Early life:...
recorded the house's order of succession. He had designated the niece's son as his successor.
His children included the carver Charles Dudoward.