The Tsetsaut (

Nisga'a language Nisga’a (also Nisg̱a’a, Nass, Nisgha, Nishka, Niska, Nishga, Nisqa’a) is an indigenous language of northwestern British Columbia. It is a part of the language family generally called Tsimshianic, although some Nisga'a people resent the p ...

: ''Jits'aawit''; in the

Tsetsaut language The Tsetsaut language is an extinct Athabascan language formerly spoken by the now-extinct Tsetsaut in the Behm and Portland Canal area of Southeast Alaska and northwestern British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and ...

: ''Wetaŀ'' or ''Wetaɬ'') were an

Athabaskan Athabaskan ( ; also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large branch of the Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, ...

-speaking group whose territory was around the head of the

Portland Canal Portland Canal is an arm of Portland Inlet, one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is approximately long. The Portland Canal forms part of the border between southeastern Alaska and British Columbia. The name of the enti ...

, straddling what is now the boundary between the US state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The name ''T'set'sa'ut'', meaning "those of the Interior", was used by the

Nisga'a The Nisga’a (; ), formerly spelled Nishga or Niska, are an Indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The origin of the term ''Niska'' is uncertain. The spelling ' ...

and

Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan and Kitksan) 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 enco ...

in reference to their origin as migrants into the region from somewhere farther inland; their use of the term is not to the Tsetsaut alone but also can refer to the

Tahltan The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahan ...

and the

Sekani Sekani or Tse’khene are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in the northern interior of British Columbia. Their territory includes the Finlay and Parsnip River drainages of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The n ...

. Other than Nisga'a stories about them, little is known about the Tsetsaut other than fragments of their language collected from two Tsetsaut slaves of the Nisga'a interviewed by

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...

in 1894.

Demise

In 1830 their numbers were estimated to be up to 500, at which point they were living in the Behm Canal, where they had been friendly with the ''Sanya kwaan'' of the

Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

and Lakweip at which point they moved to the

. Decimated by attacks and disease, the surviving Tsetsaut, estimated at 12 in 1895, came under the protection of the Nisga'a Eagle clan chief, ''Sim'oogit "Sganisim Sim'oogit"'' (''Sim'oogit'' means "chief"). Since the death of the remaining Tsetsaut, that chiefly lineage is now in possession of the Tsetsaut legacy in native law. According to Teit, Tsetsaut territory "...lay in a strip from near Bradfield Canal and the Iskut across the streams flowing into Behm Canal perhaps to about the head of Boca de Quadra. They occupied all of the upper part of

around the BC town of Stewart, and

Salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

and Bear Rivers. They may have come down the canal as far as Maple Bay. They occupied all the White River and Meziadin Lake basins and one of their original headquarters, especially for salmon fishing, was at Meziadin Lake. They stretched across the head of the Skeena River above the Kuldo River over to

Bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

and Sustut lakes "cited in th
Canadian genealogy website article "Tsetsaut Indians of Canada"
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Demise

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Further reading