The Kitasoo 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 ...

people in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, who inhabit, along with

Xai'xais The 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 ''Gidests ...

people of

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

ethnic affiliation, the village of Klemtu,

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 ...

. The name ''Kitasoo'' derives from the Tsimshian name ''Gidestsu'', from ''git-'' (people of) and ''disdzuu,'' which refers to a large, tiered house-depression. The Kitasoo, along with the

Gitga'ata The Gitga'ata (sometimes also spelled Gitga'at or Gitk'a'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 ...

Tsimshians at Hartley Bay, B.C., are often classed as "

Southern Tsimshian Southern Tsimshian, (pronounced: ) or , is the southern dialect of the Tsimshian language, spoken by the Gitga'ata The Gitga'ata (sometimes also spelled Gitga'at or Gitk'a'ata) are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columb ...

," their traditional language being the southern dialect of the Tsimshian language. Their band government is the

Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation The Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation, also known as the Kitasoo/Xaixais Nation, is the band government of the First Nations people of Klemtu, British Columbia, Canada. The band comprises two ethnic groups who share an ancient alliance, the Kitasoo, a ...

, a member government of the Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council. The anthropologist Marius Barbeau recorded in 1947 that John Starr was of the "Klemtu" tribe and held the hereditary name Lagax'niitsk.

Prehistoric culture

Some information is known about the lifestyle and diet of the

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

Kitasoo based upon

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

recovery. For example the Kitasoo exploited numerous flora and fauna as food sources including the Whitebark Raspberry, ''

Rubus leucodermis ''Rubus leucodermis'', also called whitebark raspberry or blackcap raspberry, is a species of ''Rubus'' native to western North America. Description ''Rubus leucodermis'' is a deciduous shrub growing to , with prickly shoots. While the crown ...

''.C.Michael Hogan, ''Whitebark Raspberry'', October 19, 2008, Globaltwitcher, ed. N. Stromber

Notes

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External links

The Kitasoo/Xai'Xais Nation

An Introduction to Klemtu

Bibliography

* Barbeau, Marius (1950) ''Totem Poles.'' 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. * Miller, Jay (1981) "Moieties and Cultural Amnesia: Manipulation of Knowledge in a Pacific Northwest Coast Native Community," ''Arctic Anthropology,'' vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 23–32. * Miller, Jay (1982) "Tsimshian Moieties and Other Clarifications," ''Northwest Anthropological Research Notes,'' vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 148–164. Tsimshian Central Coast of British Columbia North Coast of British Columbia