Walter Wright (oral historian)
Encyclopedia
Walter George Wright (died 1949) 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.
Wright held the name Niistaxo'ok, an hereditary name-title associated with chieftainship of the House of Niistaxo'ok, the clan Gispwudwada
(Killerwhale clan) house-group (or matrilineal extended family) of the Gits'ilaasü (a.k.a. Kitselas) tribe. In the Prologue to Men of Medeek he summarized his chiefly position as follows: "I have 'Power' on both sides of The Big Canyon [i.e. the Kitselas Canyon]. On the right hand side I have the power of my Chieftainship. For many generations Neas-D-Hok [i.e. Niistaxo'ok] has had that right. On the left hand side I carry the 'Power' of Neas Hiwas, for in my generation there is no Chief of that name." This is a reference to Niishaywaaxs, a house-chief name belonging to another Kitselas Gispwudwada house from the other side of Kitselas Canyon. Niishaywaaxs had also been held by Wright's grandfather, whom he credited with teaching him the oral histories recorded in the book.
Wright was a river-boat pilot on the Skeena River
, helming the Hudson's Bay Company
sternwheelers Mount Royal and Hazelton, work he performed until his eyesight began to fail. In later years he was blind. He was also an Envoy in the Salvation Army
.
Wright dictated Men of Medeek to Will Robinson, a local justice of the peace, in 1935–36, but it was not published until 1962, after Wright and Robinson had both died. The oral clan histories (adawx) he tells include narrations of the coming of Gispwudwada
people to Kitselas Canyon and intersect with the exploits of Tsimshian Laxsgiik
(Eagle clan) chiefs such as Ligeex
of the Gispaxlo'ots
and Gitxon
of Kitselas. The word "medeek" (midiik) is the Tsimshian
word for grizzly-bear, one of the crests ("totems") of Wright's branch of the Gispwudwada. (Medeek (a.k.a. McDeek) Avenue in Terrace is so named because of Wright's totemic affiliation.)
Wright also recorded narratives in the 1920s and later with the trained Tsimshian ethnologist and chief William Beynon
.
Wright had seven sisters, whose marriages were arranged so as to create matrikin and potential heirs (matrilineal nephews) in a variety of surrounding First Nations communities that figure in the adawx told in Men of Medeek, including Hartley Bay, Lax Kw'alaams
, and Kitamaat. (Wright's obituary referred to him as originally "hailing from Kitimaat," though we know the key parts of his ancestry were Kitselas.) One sister, Eliza, married Tom Thornhill, the first white settler in the Kitselas area.
Wright died November 14, 1949, at the purported age of 84 years, although when he dictated Men of Medeek (1935–36) he gave his age as 65. Other sources put his age at death as 104. A newspaper report on his funeral services identified "the new chief of the Kitselas people," Wright's picked successor, as Wright's sister's son, Walter Nyce, of Kitamaat, B.C.
According to another account of the chiefly succession, Wright, late in life, visited his sister Rhoda Wright Bates, a Hartley Bay resident, at a Skeena River cannery where she was performing seasonal labor and asked that his matrilineal great-great-nephew Clarence Anderson, her grandson, then 14 years old, be taken "back with him to be trained," also prearranging Clarence's eventual marriage; Anderson eventually succeeded to the name Niistaxo'ok. (This version is from a published account by Anderson's wife the anthropologist Margaret Seguin Anderson and daughter Tammy Anderson Blumhagen.)
Will Robinson's will urged his family to publish the remaining portion of the Wright manuscript, titled Wars of Medeek. This proviso was forgotten until Robinson's granddaughter Enid DuPuis rediscovered Robinson's papers. Another grandchild, Barry Robinson, then contacted Glenn Bennett, Chief Councillor of the Kitselas Band, and was put in touch with Wright's grandson, Ralph Wright, himself a former Chief Councillor who had remembered hearing the stories orally from his grandfather. A limited edition comprising both Men of Medeek and Wars of Medeek was published by Barry Robinson in 2003 and gifted to the Kitselas Nation along with some 50 presenation books given to the Chiefs and dignataries. All the original documentation and copyrights were given to the Kitselas Nations in 2003 by Barry Robinson.
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...
hereditary chief from the community of Kitselas
Kitselas
Kitselas, 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...
, near Terrace, British Columbia
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...
, Canada, whose extensive knowledge of oral history was published posthumously in book form as Men of Medeek.
Wright held the name Niistaxo'ok, an hereditary name-title associated with chieftainship of the House of Niistaxo'ok, the clan 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) house-group (or matrilineal extended family) of the Gits'ilaasü (a.k.a. Kitselas) tribe. In the Prologue to Men of Medeek he summarized his chiefly position as follows: "I have 'Power' on both sides of The Big Canyon [i.e. the Kitselas Canyon]. On the right hand side I have the power of my Chieftainship. For many generations Neas-D-Hok [i.e. Niistaxo'ok] has had that right. On the left hand side I carry the 'Power' of Neas Hiwas, for in my generation there is no Chief of that name." This is a reference to Niishaywaaxs, a house-chief name belonging to another Kitselas Gispwudwada house from the other side of Kitselas Canyon. Niishaywaaxs had also been held by Wright's grandfather, whom he credited with teaching him the oral histories recorded in the book.
Wright was a river-boat pilot on 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...
, helming 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...
sternwheelers Mount Royal and Hazelton, work he performed until his eyesight began to fail. In later years he was blind. He was also an Envoy in 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....
.
Wright dictated Men of Medeek to Will Robinson, a local justice of the peace, in 1935–36, but it was not published until 1962, after Wright and Robinson had both died. The oral clan histories (adawx) he tells include narrations of the coming of 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...
people to Kitselas Canyon and intersect with the exploits of Tsimshian Laxsgiik
Laxsgiik
The Laxsgiik is the name for the Eagle "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska...
(Eagle clan) chiefs such as Ligeex
Ligeex
Ligeex 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...
of the Gispaxlo'ots
Gispaxlo'ots
The 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 Gitxon
Laxsgiik
The Laxsgiik is the name for the Eagle "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska...
of Kitselas. The word "medeek" (midiik) is the Tsimshian
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...
word for grizzly-bear, one of the crests ("totems") of Wright's branch of the Gispwudwada. (Medeek (a.k.a. McDeek) Avenue in Terrace is so named because of Wright's totemic affiliation.)
Wright also recorded narratives in the 1920s and later with the trained Tsimshian ethnologist and chief 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....
.
Wright had seven sisters, whose marriages were arranged so as to create matrikin and potential heirs (matrilineal nephews) in a variety of surrounding First Nations communities that figure in the adawx told in Men of Medeek, including Hartley Bay, 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...
, and Kitamaat. (Wright's obituary referred to him as originally "hailing from Kitimaat," though we know the key parts of his ancestry were Kitselas.) One sister, Eliza, married Tom Thornhill, the first white settler in the Kitselas area.
Wright died November 14, 1949, at the purported age of 84 years, although when he dictated Men of Medeek (1935–36) he gave his age as 65. Other sources put his age at death as 104. A newspaper report on his funeral services identified "the new chief of the Kitselas people," Wright's picked successor, as Wright's sister's son, Walter Nyce, of Kitamaat, B.C.
According to another account of the chiefly succession, Wright, late in life, visited his sister Rhoda Wright Bates, a Hartley Bay resident, at a Skeena River cannery where she was performing seasonal labor and asked that his matrilineal great-great-nephew Clarence Anderson, her grandson, then 14 years old, be taken "back with him to be trained," also prearranging Clarence's eventual marriage; Anderson eventually succeeded to the name Niistaxo'ok. (This version is from a published account by Anderson's wife the anthropologist Margaret Seguin Anderson and daughter Tammy Anderson Blumhagen.)
Will Robinson's will urged his family to publish the remaining portion of the Wright manuscript, titled Wars of Medeek. This proviso was forgotten until Robinson's granddaughter Enid DuPuis rediscovered Robinson's papers. Another grandchild, Barry Robinson, then contacted Glenn Bennett, Chief Councillor of the Kitselas Band, and was put in touch with Wright's grandson, Ralph Wright, himself a former Chief Councillor who had remembered hearing the stories orally from his grandfather. A limited edition comprising both Men of Medeek and Wars of Medeek was published by Barry Robinson in 2003 and gifted to the Kitselas Nation along with some 50 presenation books given to the Chiefs and dignataries. All the original documentation and copyrights were given to the Kitselas Nations in 2003 by Barry Robinson.