The Gitwilgyoots are one of the 14 tribes of the

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only ...

nation in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...

resident at

Lax Kw'alaams Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the We ...

(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. The name ''Gitwilgyoots'' means literally "people of the place of kelp." Their traditional territory includes several areas around the estuary of the Skeena River. Since 1834, they have been based at Lax Kw'alaams, when a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

fort was established there. The chieftainship of the Gitwilgyoots resides in the hereditary name-title Saxsa'axt. The anthropologist Viola Garfield recorded in 1938 that the holder of Saxsa'axt at that point had succeeded his mother's brother, in accordance with matrilineal rules of succession, and had held office for more than thirty years. In the 1930s the House of Saxsa'axt was the largest house-group (matrilineal extended family) in Lax Kw'alaams. A

totem pole Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually ...

belonging to this house, portraying an anthropomorphous

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos hor ...

, was raised in the 1870s and was by the 1930s still standing but decayed beyond recognition. In 1935

William Beynon William Beynon (1888–1958) was a Canadian hereditary chief of the Tsimshian Nation and an oral historian; he served as ethnographer, translator, and linguistic consultant to many anthropologists who studied his people. Early life and educati ...

recorded that Gitwilgyoots people in Lax Kw'alaams included 49 members of the

Gispwudwada {{short description, Indigenous people of British Columbia/Alaska The Gispwudwada or Gisbutwada (variously spelled) is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast A ...

(Killerwhale clan) (three house-groups, including the House of Saxsa'axt with 22 members), 1 member of the

Ganhada The Ganhada (variously spelled, but often as G̱anhada) is the name for the Raven "clan" ( phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, ...

(Raven), 10 members of the

Laxgibuu The Laxgibuu or Laxgyibuu (variously spelled) is the name for the Wolf "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to identically named clans am ...

(Wolf) (1 house), and 23 members of the

Laxsgiik The Laxsgiik (variously spelled) is the name for the Eagle "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to identically named groups among the nei ...

(Eagle) (1 house).

Houses and Clans by rank of the Gitwilgyoots

House of Sax'sa'axt (Gispwudwada) (Currently headed by family of Bud Dudoward) House of La'dox (Ganhada) (Currently headed by Bill Sampson) In Lak'agyet House of Ha'litkwa (Laxsgiik) House of Wuts'int (Gispqudwada) House of Algomxa (Ganhada) House of Lu'g'ol (Laxsgiik) House of Niis'Amaga (Gispwudwada) (Currently headed by family of Ronald Wesley) House of Legisgago' (Ganhada) (Currently headed by Harvey Russell JR.) House of Gilaxa'ks (Gispwudwada) House of Kwusax'sa'loks (Laxsgiik) House of Gwunba (Ganhada) House of Wi'o'nemo'lk (Ganhada) House of Wai'yii (Laxgyibuu) (Currently Headed by family of Ben Hughes) House of Gwus'awa'l (Laxgyibuu) (Currently headed by Ken Lawson) House of T'emga'osemtkwa (Ganhada)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgBt9Ftw_BcC&dq=Gitwilgyoots&pg=PA272 , title=Becoming Tsimshian: The Social Life of Names , author=Christopher Fritz Roth , publisher=

University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universi ...

, location=

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, USA , year=2008 , isbn=9780295988078 , pages=20, 21

Bibliography

* Garfield, Viola E. (1939) "Tsimshian Clan and Society." ''University of Washington Publications in Anthropology,'' vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 167–340. Tsimshian