{{about, the people, the location, Kitselas, British Columbia, their band government, Kitselas First Nation Kitselas, Kitsalas or Gits'ilaasü are one of the 14

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

s 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 of

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 ...

, in northwestern

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 ...

. 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

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 ...

. It was once a great trading nexus, just outside and upriver from the city of

Terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

. It is the most upriver of the 14 tribes and it borders the territory of the

Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English (: means "people of" and : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory encompasses approxi ...

nation.

Location

Today, the Kitselas people live mostly at two Indian reserves, one, at the Kulspai or Queensway reserve ("New Town"), is just across the river from Terrace. More recently, Kitselas people have begun to repopulate a more traditional and remote site on a bluff overlooking the Canyon, at Gitaus reserve (''Git'aws'' meaning "people of the sand"). Gitaus is gradually becoming the centre of Kitselas life. From the 1870s until the 1960s, many Kitselas and

Kitsumkalum Kitsumkalum is an original tribe/ galts'ap (community) of the Tsimshian Nation. Kitsumkalum is one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada. Kitsumkalum and is also the name of one of their Indian Reserve just west of ...

Tsimshians lived at the

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...

town of

Port Essington Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...

, farther down the Skeena River (now a ghost town), at the confluence of the Ecstall and Skeena Rivers.

Governance

Until its dissolution in 2005, the

Tsimshian Tribal Council :''This is the disbanded tribal council; for the treaty council see Tsimshian First Nations'' The Tsimshian Tribal Council was the governing coalition of the band governments of the Tsimshian people in Prince Rupert. In British Columbia, the govern ...

represented Kitselas in treaty negotiations with the provincial and federal governments. Its

band government In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...

is the Kitselas First Nation.

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 ...

and the anthropologist Marius Barbeau recorded traditional information from Kitselas people at Port Essington, B.C., in 1924, including Chief Walter Wright and Chief Samuel Wise, who held the Kitselas Laxsgiik (Eagle-clan) name Gitxon. Following are the house-groups (matrilineal extended families) of the Kitselas: *House of Gagawtsgan -- Laxsgiik (Eagle clan) *House of Gitxon—Laxsgiik (Eagle clan) *House of Iyuu's -- Laxsgiik (Eagle clan) *House of G'wam --

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 clan) *House of Niis'hawas -- Gispwudwada (Killerwhale clan) *House of Niis'nagwalk—Laxsgiik (Eagle clan) *House of Lax'Stell—LaxGibu (Wolf clan) *House of Niis'taxo'ok—Gispwudwada (Killerwhale clan) *House of Sats'an—Ganhada (Raven clan) *House of Niis'Gitlope—Laxgiik (Eagle clan) *House of Stee How—LaxGibu (Wolf clan) Detailed narratives were also recorded from Chief Walter Wright (Niistaxo'ok) in the 1930s and collected in a volume called ''Men of Medeek.''

Bibliography

* Barbeau, Marius (1950) ''Totem Poles.'' 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. * Berthiaume, Rocque (1999) ''The Gitselasu: The People of Kitselas Canyon.'' Terrace, B.C.: First Nations Education Centre, School District 82 (Coast Mountains). * Coupland, Gary (1988) ''Prehistoric Cultural Change at Kitselas Canyon.'' Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization. * Haldane, Agnes, et al. (1992) ''Conflict at Gits'ilaasü.'' (Suwilaay'msga Na Ga'niiyatgm, Teachings of Our Grandfathers, vol. 6.) Prince Rupert, B.C.: School District No. 52. * Marsden, Susan (ed.) (1992) ''Na Amwaaltga Ts'msiyeen: The Tsimshian, Trade, and the Northwest Coast Economy.'' (Suwilaay'msga Na Ga'niiyatgm, Teachings of Our Grandfathers, vol. 1.) Prince Rupert, B.C.: School District No. 52. * McDonald, James A. (2003) People of the Robin: The Tsimshian of Kitsumkalum. CCI Press. * Robinson, Will (1962) ''Men of Medeek.'' As told by Walter Wright. Kitimat, B.C.: Northern Sentinel Press

External links

Kitselas First Nation website
Tsimshian Skeena Country

Location

Governance

See also

Bibliography

External links