Tsimshian
Encyclopedia
The Tsimshian (ˈsɪmʃiən; Sm'algyax
: Ts’msyan) 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 Tsimshian. Their culture is matrilineal with a societal structure based on a clan system, properly referred to as a moiety. Early anthropologists and linguistics grouped Gitxsan
and Nisga'a
as Tsimshian because of linguistic affinities. Under this terminology they were referred to as Coast Tsimshian, even though some communities were not coastal. The three groups identify as separate nations. There are many other ways to spell the name, such as Tsimpshean, Tsimshean, Tsimpshian, and others, but this article will use the spelling "Tsimshian".
In 1862 smallpox
annihilated many of the Tsimshian population. Further epidemics ravaged their communities for many years until the late 1890's. There were at least three large scale outbreaks, in total one in four Tsimshian died. Lax Kw'alaams began burying the dead without ceremony, on Rose Island. Protestant English culture became the way Tsimshian began to lead their lives, including language, religion and culture from this time forward. In fact the Head Chiefs themselves were the ones to lead the assimilative process. It was not until the 1970's when Tsimshian culture began to return to the communities, appearing first in the school district.
In the 1880s the Anglican missionary William Duncan
, with a group of Tsimshian, requested settlement on Annette Island
from the U.S. government
. After being approved, the group founded New Metlakatla
in Alaska. William Duncan later requested the community gain reservation
status. After approval, it became the only Native reservation in the state.
The New Metlakatla Tsimshian maintained their reservation status and holdings exclusive of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
. They do not have an associated Native Corporation, although Tsimshian in Alaska may be shareholders of the Sealaska Corporation. The Annette Island reservation is the only location in Alaska allowed to maintain fish traps, which were otherwise banned when Alaska became a state
in 1959. The traps are used to provide food for people living on the reservation.
In British Columbia, the governments of Canada started engaging in the British Columbia Treaty Process
with First Nation bands in the province. The Tsimshian First Nations pursued negotiations until late 2005 when the Tsimshian Tribal Council, the organization for representing each of the First Nations in treaty negotiations, dissolved amid legal and political turmoil.
. The Tsimshian were a seafaring people, like the Haida. A staple for many years, the salmon continues to be at the center of their nutrition, despite large-scale commercial fishing. This abundant food source enabled the Tsimshian to live in permanent towns.
They lived in large longhouses, made from cedar house posts and panels. These were very large, and usually housed an entire extended family. Cultural taboos related to prohibiting women and men eating improper foods during and after childbirth. The marriage ceremony was an extremely formal affair, involving several prolonged and sequential ceremonies.
Tsimshian religion centered around 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
.
As with all Northwest Coastal peoples, the Tsimshian engage in the potlatch
, which they refer to as the yaawk, or feast. Today in Tsimshian culture, the potlatch is held at gatherings to honor deaths, burials, and succession to name-titles.
The Tsimshian live on in their art, their culture and their language, which is making a comeback.
Like other coastal peoples, the Tsimshian fashioned most of their goods out of Western red cedar, particularly from its bark
. It could be fashioned into tools, clothing, roofing, armor, building materials and canoe skins. They used cedar in their Chilkat weaving
, which they are credited with inventing.The Tsimshian competed with the Tlingit, Haida, the Athapaskan groups in the north, the Dunne-Za in the east, and the Kwakiutl
groups in the south.
and Nass River
s as early as 1879. They were not able to begin negotiating a treaty with the Canadian government until July 1983. A decade later, fourteen bands united to negotiate under the collective name of the Tsimshian Tribal Council
. A framework agreement was signed in 1997, and the Tsimshian nation continues to negotiate with the BC Treaty Commission to reach an Agreement-in-Principle.
" and by Tsimshians as Sm'algyax, which means "real or true tongue." It has differing dialects from the North in Taquan to the south in Klemtu. Tsimshian also speak the same language as the Gitxsan and the Nisga’a, yet the dialect is further differentiated than the regional Tsimshian variations. Very few speakers remain today in Canada and Alaska. Some linguists classify Tsimshianic languages as a member of the theoretical Penutian language group.
Coast Tsimshian
Coast Tsimshian, known by its speakers as Sm'algyax, is a Tsimshianic language spoken by the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia and southeastern Alaska...
: Ts’msyan) are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
. Tsimshian translates to Inside the 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...
. Their communities are 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...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, around Terrace
Terrace, British Columbia
Terrace is a city on the Skeena River in British Columbia, Canada. The Kitselas people, a tribe of the Tsimshian Nation, have lived in the Terrace area for thousands of years. The community population fell between 2001 and 2006 from 12,109 with a regional population of 19,980 to 11,320 and...
and Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island
Annette Island
Annette Island, or Taak'w Aan, is an island in Gravina Islands of the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean on the southeastern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is at . It is about long and about wide. The land area is...
. There are approximately 10,000 Tsimshian. Their culture is matrilineal with a societal structure based on a clan system, properly referred to as a moiety. Early anthropologists and linguistics grouped Gitxsan
Gitxsan
Gitxsan are an indigenous people whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English...
and Nisga'a
Nisga'a
The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga’a language as Nisga’a, are an Indigenous nation or First Nation in Canada. They live in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. Their name comes from a combination of two Nisga’a words: Nisk’-"top lip" and...
as Tsimshian because of linguistic affinities. Under this terminology they were referred to as Coast Tsimshian, even though some communities were not coastal. The three groups identify as separate nations. There are many other ways to spell the name, such as Tsimpshean, Tsimshean, Tsimpshian, and others, but this article will use the spelling "Tsimshian".
History
At one time the Tsimshian lived on the upper reaches of the Skeena River near present day Hazleton BC. It was after a series of disasters that befell the people, that a Prince from the leadership lead a migration to the coast, away from the cursed land and founded Kitkatla, which is today one the oldest continually inhabited communities on Earth. Following suite, other Chiefs migrated down the river and began to occupy all the lands of the lower Skeena valley. Over time a new dialect of the language developed and so too did the Tsimshian proper; but still sharing all the rights and customs of their upper river brothers the Gitksan.In 1862 smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
annihilated many of the Tsimshian population. Further epidemics ravaged their communities for many years until the late 1890's. There were at least three large scale outbreaks, in total one in four Tsimshian died. Lax Kw'alaams began burying the dead without ceremony, on Rose Island. Protestant English culture became the way Tsimshian began to lead their lives, including language, religion and culture from this time forward. In fact the Head Chiefs themselves were the ones to lead the assimilative process. It was not until the 1970's when Tsimshian culture began to return to the communities, appearing first in the school district.
In the 1880s the Anglican missionary William Duncan
William Duncan (missionary)
William Duncan was an English-born Anglican missionary who founded the Tsimshian communities of Metlakatla, British Columbia, in Canada, and Metlakatla, Alaska, in the United States...
, with a group of Tsimshian, requested settlement on Annette Island
Annette Island
Annette Island, or Taak'w Aan, is an island in Gravina Islands of the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean on the southeastern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is at . It is about long and about wide. The land area is...
from the U.S. government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. After being approved, the group founded New Metlakatla
Metlakatla, Alaska
Metlakatla is a census-designated place on Annette Island in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,375.- History :...
in Alaska. William Duncan later requested the community gain reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
status. After approval, it became the only Native reservation in the state.
The New Metlakatla Tsimshian maintained their reservation status and holdings exclusive of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, commonly abbreviated ANCSA, was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 23, 1971, the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve the long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in...
. They do not have an associated Native Corporation, although Tsimshian in Alaska may be shareholders of the Sealaska Corporation. The Annette Island reservation is the only location in Alaska allowed to maintain fish traps, which were otherwise banned when Alaska became a state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
in 1959. The traps are used to provide food for people living on the reservation.
In British Columbia, the governments of Canada started engaging in the British Columbia Treaty Process
British Columbia Treaty Process
The British Columbia Treaty Process is a land claims negotiation process started in 1993 to resolve outstanding issues - including claims to un-extinguished aboriginal rights - with British Columbia's First Nations....
with First Nation bands in the province. The Tsimshian First Nations pursued negotiations until late 2005 when the Tsimshian Tribal Council, the organization for representing each of the First Nations in treaty negotiations, dissolved amid legal and political turmoil.
Culture
Like all Northwest Coastal peoples, they thrived on the abundant sea life, especially salmonSalmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
. The Tsimshian were a seafaring people, like the Haida. A staple for many years, the salmon continues to be at the center of their nutrition, despite large-scale commercial fishing. This abundant food source enabled the Tsimshian to live in permanent towns.
They lived in large longhouses, made from cedar house posts and panels. These were very large, and usually housed an entire extended family. Cultural taboos related to prohibiting women and men eating improper foods during and after childbirth. The marriage ceremony was an extremely formal affair, involving several prolonged and sequential ceremonies.
Tsimshian religion centered around 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
Charity (virtue)
In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...
and purification
Ritual purification
Ritual purification is a feature of many religions. The aim of these rituals is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a particular type of activity, and especially prior to the worship of a deity...
of the body (either by cleanliness or fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
) was the route to the afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
.
As with all Northwest Coastal peoples, the Tsimshian engage in the potlatch
Potlatch
A potlatch is a gift-giving festival and primary economic system practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and United States. This includes Heiltsuk Nation, Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures...
, which they refer to as the yaawk, or feast. Today in Tsimshian culture, the potlatch is held at gatherings to honor deaths, burials, and succession to name-titles.
The Tsimshian live on in their art, their culture and their language, which is making a comeback.
Like other coastal peoples, the Tsimshian fashioned most of their goods out of Western red cedar, particularly from its bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
. It could be fashioned into tools, clothing, roofing, armor, building materials and canoe skins. They used cedar in their Chilkat weaving
Chilkat weaving
Chilkat weaving is a traditional form of weaving practiced by Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and other Northwest coastal tribes of Alaska and British Columbia. Chilkat blankets are worn by high-ranking tribal members on civic or ceremonial occasions, including dances.-Background:The name derives from...
, which they are credited with inventing.The Tsimshian competed with the Tlingit, Haida, the Athapaskan groups in the north, the Dunne-Za in the east, and the Kwakiutl
Kwakiutl
The term Kwakiutl, historically applied to the entire Kwakwaka'wakw ethno-linguistic group of originally 28 tribes, comes from one of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes, the Kwagu'ł or Kwagyeulth, at Fort Rupert, with whom Franz Boas did most of his anthropological work and whose Indian Act Band government...
groups in the south.
Tribes
The Tsimshian nation (meaning the Coast Tsimshian) in British Columbia consists of fourteen tribes:- the Gitdidzu or KitasooKitasooThe Kitasoo are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian people in Canada, who inhabit, along with Xai'xais people of Heiltsuk ethnic affiliation, the village of Klemtu, British Columbia. The name Kitasoo derives from the Tsimshian name Gidestsu, from git- and disdzuu, which refers to a large,...
(who live at Klemtu, B.C.) - the Gitga'at (Hartley Bay, B.C.)
- the Gitxaala or KitkatlaKitkatlaThe 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...
(Kitkatla, B.C.Kitkatla, British ColumbiaKitkatla is a small Tsimshian village situated approximately 45 km S.W. of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, on the north side of Dolphin Island. The village is accessible via Prince Rupert by regular float plane flights or by boat. It is home to the Kitkatla tribe of Tsimshians....
) - the Gitsumkalum (KitsumkalumKitsumkalumKitsumkalum is one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and is also the name of their Indian Reserve just west of the city of Terrace, British Columbia, where the Kitsumkalum River flows into the Skeena River...
, B.C.) - the Gits'ilaasü or KitselasKitselasKitselas, Kitsalas or Gits'ilaasü are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, in northwestern Canada. The original name Gits'ilaasü means "people of the canyon." The tribe is situated at Kitselas, British Columbia, at the upper end of Kitselas Canyon, which is on the...
(Kitselas, B.C.) - The allied tribes of Lax kw'alaamsLax Kw'alaamsLax-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...
including MetlakatlaMetlakatlaMetlakatla may refer to:* Metlakatla, Alaska* Metlakatla, British Columbia...
- Giluts'aawGiluts'aawThe Giluts'aaẅ 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 , B.C...
- GinadoiksGinadoiksThe 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 , B.C...
- GinaxangiikGinaxangiikThe Ginaxangiik 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 , B.C...
- Gispaxlo'otsGispaxlo'otsThe Gispaxlo'ots 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 , B.C...
- GitandoGitandoThe 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...
- GitlaanGitlaanThe Gitlaan 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 , B.C...
- Gits'iisGits'iisThe Gits'iis 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 The Gits'iis are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada,...
- GitwilgyootsGitwilgyootsThe Gitwilgyoots 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 , B.C...
- Gitzaxłaał
- Giluts'aaw
Clans
The Tsimshian clans are the- LaxsgiikLaxsgiikThe Laxsgiik is the name for the Eagle "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska...
(Eagle Clan), - GispwudwadaGispwudwadaThe 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) - GanhadaGanhadaThe 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 Clan) - LaxgibuuLaxgibuuThe 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 Clan)
Treaty process
The Tsimshian wanted to preserve their villages and fishing sites on the SkeenaSkeena 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...
and 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...
s as early as 1879. They were not able to begin negotiating a treaty with the Canadian government until July 1983. A decade later, fourteen bands united to negotiate under the collective name of the Tsimshian Tribal Council
Tsimshian Tribal Council
The Tsimshian Tribal Council was the governing coalition of the band governments of the Tsimshian people in Prince Rupert. In British Columbia, the governments of Canada started engaging in the British Columbia Treaty Process with First Nation bands in the province...
. A framework agreement was signed in 1997, and the Tsimshian nation continues to negotiate with the BC Treaty Commission to reach an Agreement-in-Principle.
Language
The Tsimshian speak a Tsimshianic language, referred to by linguists as "Coast TsimshianCoast Tsimshian
Coast Tsimshian, known by its speakers as Sm'algyax, is a Tsimshianic language spoken by the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia and southeastern Alaska...
" and by Tsimshians as Sm'algyax, which means "real or true tongue." It has differing dialects from the North in Taquan to the south in Klemtu. Tsimshian also speak the same language as the Gitxsan and the Nisga’a, yet the dialect is further differentiated than the regional Tsimshian variations. Very few speakers remain today in Canada and Alaska. Some linguists classify Tsimshianic languages as a member of the theoretical Penutian language group.
Prominent Tsimshians (and people of Tsimshian descent)
- Jeff Morris Speaker Pro Tem and Representative Washington State House of Representatives
- Charles Dudoward, Hereditary Chief of Ginaxangiik, artist, painter, merchant
- Betty Sampson, Gitando, artist, weaver, painter
- Frederick AlexceeFrederick AlexceeFrederick Alexcee was a Tsimshian carver and painter from the community of Lax Kw'alaams , British Columbia, Canada....
, artist - William BeynonWilliam BeynonWilliam Beynon was a hereditary chief from the Tsimshian nation and an oral historian who served as ethnographer, translator, and linguistic consultant to many anthropologists....
, GitlaanGitlaanThe Gitlaan 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 , B.C...
and ethnographer - Rev. William Soloman White, GitlaanGitlaanThe Gitlaan 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 , B.C...
- George William Jeffrey activist
- Heber CliftonHeber CliftonHeber Clifton was an hereditary chief of the Gitga'ata tribe of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada. He was from the Tsimshian community of Hartley Bay, B.C...
, hereditary chief of the Gitga'ataGitga'ataThe Gitga'ata are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada, and inhabit the village of Hartley Bay, British Columbia, the name of which in the Tsimshian language is Txałgiu. The name Gitga'ata in the Tsimshian language means "people of the cane"...
and community leader - Marcia CrosbyMarcia CrosbyMarcia Crosby is a writer and historian of Tsimshian and Haida ancestry. She graduated in 1992 with an MA in Art History, from the University of British Columbia, and began teaching in the Native Studies Department, Malaspina University, Nanaimo, B.C...
, art historian - Alfred DudowardAlfred DudowardAlfred 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 , B.C.Dudoward was a member of the Gitando tribe, one of the nine Tsimshian tribes based in Lax Kw'alaams. His...
, hereditary chief of the GitandoGitandoThe 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...
, and leader of the Port Simpson Methodist Movement. co-founder of the Native Brotherhood - Pauline Dudoward, Gitnadoix, Teacher, and language teacher, pioneered the resurgence of the language and culture in the 1970's. Wife of head chief of the Lax Kw'alaams.
- Verna Helin, GinaxangiikGinaxangiikThe Ginaxangiik 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 , B.C...
,also Teacher, and language teacher, pioneered the resurgence of the language and culture in the 1970's. Wife of a chief of Lax Kw'alaams. - Benjamin HaldaneBenjamin HaldaneBenjamin Alfred Haldane was a Tsimshian professional photographer from Metlakatla, Alaska.-Background:Benjamin Alfred Haldane was born on 15 June 1874 in the village of Metlakatla, British Columbia....
, pioneering photographer from Metlakatla village - Bill HelinBill HelinBill Helen is a Canadian artist, teacher, and designer in the Northwest Coast style and a member of the Tsimshian First Nation of northwestern British Columbia. His ancestry is from the Gits'iis tribe in the village of Lax Kw'alaams, B.C. His father was Arthur Helen-.His accomplishments include...
, artist - Calvin HelinCalvin HelinCalvin Helin is a Canadian businessman and writer on aboriginal topics who is a member of the Tsimshian First Nation in northwestern British Columbia....
, GinaxangiikGinaxangiikThe Ginaxangiik 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 , B.C...
, lawyer, businessman and author - William JeffreyChief William JeffreyChief William Jeffrey was a hereditary Tsimshian Chief, First Nations activist and carver born near Lax Kw'alaams, British Columbia, Canada, in 1899. He attended residential school from 1914 to 1917...
, Gitwilgyoats, hereditary chief, activist, carver - Paul LegaicLigeexLigeex is an hereditary name-title belonging to the Gispaxlo'ots tribe of the Tsimshian First Nation from the village of Lax Kw'alaams , British Columbia, Canada. The name, and the chieftainship it represents, is passed along matrilineally within the royal house called the House of Ligeex...
, hereditary chief of the Gispaxlo'otsGispaxlo'otsThe Gispaxlo'ots 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 , B.C...
and trader. The first Police Chief of New Metlakatla. - "Old" Legaic, hereditary chief of the Gispaxlo'otsGispaxlo'otsThe Gispaxlo'ots 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 , B.C...
, uncle of Paul Legaic. Old Legaic was the most influential of all the Legaics' - Joshua Tsibasaa, Chief of Kitkatla, the last of the great Tsibasaa line, and father of Paul Legaic, and brother in law to Old Legaic.
- Rev. Edward MarsdenEdward MarsdenThe Rev. Edward Marsden was a Canadian-American missionary and member of the Tsimshian nation who became the first Alaska Native to be ordained in the ministry....
, clergyman - Charles Menzies (anthropologist)Charles Menzies (anthropologist)Charles R. Menzies is a Canadian anthropologist whose ancestry is with the Tsimshian people of northwestern British Columbia.He is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia...
- Odille MorisonOdille MorisonOdille Morison was a linguist, artifact collector, and community leader from the Tsimshian First Nation of northwestern British Columbia, Canada....
, translator and art collector - Rev. William Henry PierceWilliam Henry PierceWilliam Henry Pierce , also known as W. H. Pierce, was a Canadian First Nations missionary for the Methodist church and a member of the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia. He is best known for his memoir, From Potlatch to Pulpit, which was the first published book by a...
, missionary and memoirist - Peter SimpsonPeter Simpson (Native rights activist)Peter Simpson was a Canadian-born Tsimshian activist for Alaska Native rights. He grew up in Metlakatla, Alaska, but his Tsimshian ancestors were from Lax Kw'alaams and Metlakatla, British Columbia....
, Indian rights activist - Henry W. TateHenry W. TateHenry Wellington Tate was an oral historian from the Tsimshian First Nation in British Columbia, Canada, best known for his work with the anthropologist Franz Boas....
, Gispakloats, oral historian, tribal head man - Roy Henry VickersRoy Henry VickersThis page is about the Canadian artist, for the English mystery writer go to Roy VickersRoy Henry Vickers, CM, OBC is a Canadian First Nations artist...
, artist - Willy White, Gitwilgyoats, artist, chilkat weaver, Gitwilgyoats
- Arthur Wellington ClahArthur Wellington ClahArthur Wellington Clah was a Canadian First Nations employee of the Hudson's Bay Company at Lax Kw'alaams , B.C., who was also a hereditary chief in the Tsimshian nation, an anthropological informant, and an extensive diarist....
, from the house of Tamks of the Gispaxlo'ots. Worked as a translator in Fort Simpson, the first to teach Father Duncan the sm`algyax lannguage, also a detailed diarist - Walter WrightWalter Wright (oral historian)Walter George Wright was a Tsimshian hereditary chief from the community of Kitselas, near Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, whose extensive knowledge of oral history was published posthumously in book form as Men of Medeek....
, hereditary chief of the Gits'ilaasü (KitselasKitselasKitselas, Kitsalas or Gits'ilaasü are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, in northwestern Canada. The original name Gits'ilaasü means "people of the canyon." The tribe is situated at Kitselas, British Columbia, at the upper end of Kitselas Canyon, which is on the...
) and oral historian - Shannon ThunderbirdShannon ThunderbirdShannon Thunderbird, is a Coast Tsimshian First Nations singer-songwriter, storyteller, educator, speaker, playwright and novelist.She is an Elder of the Giluts'aaw tribe, Royal House of Niis'gumiik, Gispwudwada Clan. She is the President and Artistic Director of Teya Peya Productions, an...
, Singer, Songwriter, Speaker, Author/Arts Educator, Recording artist - Edward E. Bryant, artist
- Eric G. Cook, hereditary chief GispwudwadaGispwudwadaThe 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...
, descendant of Eli Gordon (*needing verification from a written source) - Ira C. Booth, Metlakatla, Alaska, Tsimshian Historian, Chief Judge, Builder, Submitted to Lax Kw'Alaams Tsimshian Research
- Russell Gamble Sr., KitkatlaKitkatlaThe 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...
, Chief Hale (successor to Tsibasaa), long standing community leader in Kitkatla and Prince Rupert.
Anthropologists and other scholars who have worked with the Tsimshian
- Margaret (Sequin) Anderson
- Marius BarbeauMarius 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...
- William BeynonWilliam BeynonWilliam Beynon was a hereditary chief from the Tsimshian nation and an oral historian who served as ethnographer, translator, and linguistic consultant to many anthropologists....
- Franz BoasFranz BoasFranz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
- Caroline F. Butler
- Philip DruckerPhilip DruckerPhilip Drucker was an American anthropologist who specialized in Native American peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America.In the 1940s he worked for the Bureau of American Ethnology in Washington, D.C.-Bibliography:...
- Wilson DuffWilson DuffWilson Duff was a Canadian archaeologist, cultural anthropologist, and museum curator.He is remembered for his research on First Nations cultures of the Northwest Coast, notably the Tsimshian, Gitxsan, and Haida, and especially for his interest in their plastic arts, such as totem poles...
- Viola GarfieldViola GarfieldViola 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:...
- Marjorie HalpinMarjorie HalpinMarjorie Halpin was a U.S.-Canadian anthropologist best known for her work on Northwest Coast art and culture, especially the Tsimshian and Gitksan peoples.She earned an M.A. from George Washington University in 1963...
- Susan Marsden
- Charles Menzies
- James McDonaldJames McDonaldJames McDonald may refer to:* James McDonald , Economist at Brigham Young University, research in Econometrics specializing in adaptive estimation techniques* James McDonald , World War I flying ace...
- Jay Miller
- Chris Roth
Missionaries who worked among the Tsimshian
- William Henry CollisonWilliam Henry CollisonWilliam Henry Collison , also known as W. H. Collison, was an Anglican missionary among First Nations people in coastal British Columbia, Canada....
- Thomas CrosbyThomas CrosbyThe Rev. Thomas Crosby was an English Methodist missionary known for his work among the First Nations people of coastal British Columbia, Canada....
, Methodist - William DuncanWilliam Duncan (missionary)William Duncan was an English-born Anglican missionary who founded the Tsimshian communities of Metlakatla, British Columbia, in Canada, and Metlakatla, Alaska, in the United States...
, Anglican/independent - Edward MarsdenEdward MarsdenThe Rev. Edward Marsden was a Canadian-American missionary and member of the Tsimshian nation who became the first Alaska Native to be ordained in the ministry....
, Presbyterian - Bishop William RidleyWilliam Ridley (bishop)William Ridley was an English missionary for the Church of England in Canada and served as Bishop of Caledonia.-Life:Ridley was from Brixham Devonshire, England, and was the son of a stonemason...
, Anglican - Robert TomlinsonRobert TomlinsonRobert Tomlinson was an Irish medical missionary for the Church of England, known for his work with the indigenous peoples of British Columbia....
, Anglican - Joseph Burton
- David H. Pieplow
See also
- Tsimshian mythologyTsimshian mythologyTsimshian mythology is the mythology of the Tsimshian, a First Nations Native American people in Canada and the United States. The majority of Tsimshian people live in British Columbia, while others live in Alaska....
- Gitksan languageGitksan languageGitxsan is a First Nations language of northwestern British Columbia. It is a Tsimshianic language, closely related to the neighboring Nisga’a language...
- Nisga'a languageNisga'a languageNisga’a is a Tsimshianic language of the Nisga'a people of northwestern British Columbia. Nisga'a people, however, do not like the term Tshimshianic as they feel that it gives precedence to Coast Tsimshian. Nisga’a is very closely related to Gitksan...
- Coast TsimshianCoast TsimshianCoast Tsimshian, known by its speakers as Sm'algyax, is a Tsimshianic language spoken by the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia and southeastern Alaska...
External links
- The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Tsimshian Prehistory
- Map of Northwest Coast First Nations (including Tsimshian)
- Tsimshian Text List of Tsimshian Text by Boaz, F.
