Introduction

Intent

Indigenous First Nations peoples have been a dynamic force in the shaping of the north-western British Columbian landscape since time immemorial. As such, their heritage is fundamentally important for understanding the living landscapes of the region. The First Nations imprint is undeniable, and continues as a strong presence on the land throughout the northwest. Yet, the heritage is often unknown by the larger society.

The central intent of this project was to address this problem by creating a detailed record of the cultural heritage of one Tsimshian family based in the Terrace area. This report:

1. demonstrates the enduring presence of aboriginal culture in the Northwest,
2. creates a detailed record for one social group at the micro-level of the family,
3. provides an educational tool illustrating the continuing relationship of First Nations to the living landscape, and
4. does so in a culturally appropriate manner.

Methodology

The central method for the project was the case study approach of working with one family. This case focused on the descendents of the indigenous Waaps Nishaywaaxs, a family connected to the Tsimshian communities of Kitsumkalum and Kitselas, near Terrace, BC. As a case study, the Nishaywaaxs information will contribute to: 1) a specific and concrete representation of the continuing heritage of First Nations' relationship to the land and 2) a perception of living landscapes in the northwest that includes the First Nations heritage.

There are four practical reasons for focusing on one family. First, not all the families of Kitsumkalum and Kitselas could be included in a project of this scale, so the case study approach is a valid solution to a logistic limitation. Second, the method provides a basis for future projects of a similar nature with other families in the community. This compensates for the limitations inherent in a single case study, and makes this case study a pilot project for future work. Third, the approach recognizes the importance of using a culturally appropriate social group as the case. The Tsimshian family, whether it is defined as a matrilineal corporate group (Waap) or as a clan (Pteex), is the group with the most direct ties to the landscape. More precisely, it is the family that traditionally owns and manages the resources in the territory. It is their oral histories that overlay the land and transform it into a cultural landscape. Fourth, the approach recognizes the importance of using a culturally appropriate research methodology. Since the heritage that connects the people to the land is part of the intellectual property of a family, it is necessary that a family tell its own story. Thus, this project was developed in partnership with the family. The family participated in the final decisions as to which components will be shared, which includes family genealogy, the history of the family on the land, and a record of the family's reconnecting to the land.

How the Information was Gathered

The research methodology was strongly ethnohistorical. The first step in the research consisted of collating archival materials specific to the family's history. The archival materials were drawn from existing community archives. The family archival materials were examined and interpreted with the family in a focus group setting, using an oral histories methodology. This was done to gather supplemental information and the archival materials, and to provide some triangulation of the archival information with oral history. Beyond the archival and oral information, the project gathered other types of materials as supplemental support for the narratives, such as photographs. All the material is stored in the archives of the Kitsumkalum Social History Research Projects and made public via this illustrated report for the Living Landscapes project of the RBCM. The family permits this.

Brief Description of Tsimshian Social Organization

The Tsimshian are the aboriginal people that occupied the area of the lower Skeena River and coastal areas from the Nass River to Princess Royale Island. Their neighbours are the Haida, Nisga'a, Gitanyow, Gitxsan, Haisla, and Xaisxais. There are currently nine Tsimshian reserve communities in Canada, although Tsimshian people live in many places throughout the world. The Gits'ilaasu and Kitsumkalum are closely related communities in the area of the modern day City of Terrace. These two communities are sometimes identified as the Canyon Tsimshian because of the location of their principle indigenous settlements on important river canyons, and sometimes as the Freshwater Tsimshian because of their traditional tendency to stay in the interior and not to join their Tsimshian neighbours on the sea coast during the winter.¹ This tendency to stay inland, combined with their proximity to the Nisga'a and Gitxsan, gave the two communities a distinctiveness that textures the common heritage they shared with the rest of the Tsimshian.

Figure 1: Kitselas and the Middle Skeena Area [From Berthiaume 1999]

Brief Description of a House/Waap

Like other Tsimshian communities, the Gits'ilaasu were strongly matrilineal, with lineages organized into corporate groups called houses or wuwaap (singular: waap). The wuwaap held property together under the stewardship of their house leadership, the Sm'gyigyet or chiefs (singular: sm'oogyet).² Property took many forms, including real estate, movable property, and immaterial property such as songs and oral histories. The key forms of property were those that connected the waap to the landscape. In particular, the large estates, or laxyuup, were important as the economically productive property and the important oral histories, called adawx, contained the socially necessary charters to the land.³

Figure 2: Kitselas Canyon on the Skeena River [BC Archives I-56070]

First Nations and Non-First Nations in the Area

The indigenous Tsimshian society and culture began to change in response to the European economic presence as early as the late 18th century when the Russian eastward expansion reached the Tlingit in present day Alaska. British and American businessmen brought the fur trade into Tsimshian waters, and the Hudson Bay Company converted the maritime trade into a permanent land based business, heralding the colonial period. The inland Tsimshian were affected by this but did not receive European visitors until the middle of the 19th century. A short period of rapid change occurred with the opening of canneries and other features of global society, and the adoption by the Tsimshian of the new economy and their incorporation into the emerging social order. By the start of the 20th century, the Indian Reserve system was in place and settlement and industry were encroaching on the homelands of both Gits'ilaasu and Kitsumkalum. In both cases, the communities experienced a powerful transformation in a matter of a life time and their ancient settlements on the canyons were deserted in favour of other locales. The heritage of Waaps Nishaywaax, allows considerable insight into this story.

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¹ McDonald 2003

² Further details can be found in McDonald 2003

³ McDonald 2003, Berthiaume 1999