Ginadoiks
Encyclopedia
The Ginadoiks are one 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
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. The name Ginadoiks means literally "people of the rapids." Their traditional territory is the watershed of the Gitnadoiks River, a tributary of the Skeena. Since 1834, they have been based at Lax Kw'alaams, when a Hudson's Bay Company
fort was established there.
The anthropologist Viola Garfield
wrote in 1938 that the then-current head chief of the Ginadoiks, Cecil Ross, Niisweexs ("Grandfather of Weexs"), had come from the Tsimshian community of Kitkatla
three generations earlier "when his 'brother' usurped his place and took the ... chieftainship" of the Kitkatla tribe. The leading, royal house of the Ginadoiks had become extinct, allowing the Kitkatla man to accede to the name Niisweexs. He was succeeded by a "house 'nephew,'" who was in turn succeeded by his sister's son, in accordance with rules of matrilineal succession. One of these last two Niisweexses was Henry Nelson, who died in 1925 and whose mortuary rites are described in detail in Garfield's monograph.
In 1935 William Beynon
recorded that Ginadoiks people in Lax Kw'alaams included 2 members of the Gispwudwada
(Killerwhale clan) (i.e. the House of Niisweexs), 7 members of the Ganhada
(Raven) (two house-groups, including the House of Niisganaas, with only 2 members), and 18 members of the Laxgibuu
(Wolf) (one house-group).
One holder of the name Niisganaas, and therefore head of the House of Niisganaas, was Lewis Gray (ca. 1857-1934), was a key informant of Garfield's during her 1932 fieldwork season. He was a shaman whose fame had spread as far as the Nass River
, his supernatural gifts having been evident at his birth since he had been born with a caul
. Since he had no matrilineal heirs, shortly before his death he adopted his own wife into his house-group as his sister so that she could inherit the prerogatives of the House of Niisganaas.
Houses of the Ginadoiks include:
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, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River
Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada . The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan - whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the...
resident at 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...
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. The name Ginadoiks means literally "people of the rapids." Their traditional territory is the watershed of the Gitnadoiks River, a tributary of the Skeena. Since 1834, they have been based at Lax Kw'alaams, when a 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...
fort was established there.
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:...
wrote in 1938 that the then-current head chief of the Ginadoiks, Cecil Ross, Niisweexs ("Grandfather of Weexs"), had come from the Tsimshian community of Kitkatla
Kitkatla
The Kitkatla are one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian nation of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and inhabit a village, also called Kitkatla , on Dolphin Island, a small island just by Porcher Island off the coast of northern B.C. Because of this they have sometimes been called Porcher...
three generations earlier "when his 'brother' usurped his place and took the ... chieftainship" of the Kitkatla tribe. The leading, royal house of the Ginadoiks had become extinct, allowing the Kitkatla man to accede to the name Niisweexs. He was succeeded by a "house 'nephew,'" who was in turn succeeded by his sister's son, in accordance with rules of matrilineal succession. One of these last two Niisweexses was Henry Nelson, who died in 1925 and whose mortuary rites are described in detail in Garfield's monograph.
In 1935 William Beynon
William Beynon
William Beynon was a hereditary chief from the Tsimshian nation and an oral historian who served as ethnographer, translator, and linguistic consultant to many anthropologists....
recorded that Ginadoiks people in Lax Kw'alaams included 2 members of the Gispwudwada
Gispwudwada
The Gispwudwada is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the Gisgahaast clan in British Columbia's Gitksan nation and the Gisk'ahaast/Gisk'aast Tribe of the Nisga'a...
(Killerwhale clan) (i.e. the House of Niisweexs), 7 members of the Ganhada
Ganhada
The Ganhada is the name for the Raven "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the Ganada Tribe of the Nisga'a nation in British Columbia and the Frog clan among B.C.'s Gitxsan nation...
(Raven) (two house-groups, including the House of Niisganaas, with only 2 members), and 18 members of the Laxgibuu
Laxgibuu
The Laxgibuu is the name for the Wolf "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to identically named clans among the neighboring Gitksan and Nisga'a nations.The name Laxgibuu derives from gibuu, which...
(Wolf) (one house-group).
One holder of the name Niisganaas, and therefore head of the House of Niisganaas, was Lewis Gray (ca. 1857-1934), was a key informant of Garfield's during her 1932 fieldwork season. He was a shaman whose fame had spread as far as the Nass River
Nass River
The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance...
, his supernatural gifts having been evident at his birth since he had been born with a caul
Caul
A caul is a thin, filmy membrane, the amnion, that can cover a newborn's head and face immediately after birth.-Obstetrics:A child "born with the caul" has a portion of the amniotic sac or membrane remaining on the head. There are two types of cauls. The most common caul is adhered to the head...
. Since he had no matrilineal heirs, shortly before his death he adopted his own wife into his house-group as his sister so that she could inherit the prerogatives of the House of Niisganaas.
Houses of the Ginadoiks include:
- House of Niisganaas -- Ganhada (Raven clan)
- House of Niisweexs -- Gispwudwada (Killerwhale clan)
- House of Sats'aan -- Laxgibuu (Wolf clan)
Sources
- Barbeau, MariusMarius BarbeauCharles Marius Barbeau, , also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology...
(1950) Totem Poles. 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada.
- Garfield, Viola E. (1939) "Tsimshian Clan and Society." University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 167-340.