Nisga'a

(Redirected from Nisga'a people) Indigenous people in British Columbia This article is about the ethnic group. For their language, see Nisga'a language.

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Ethnic group

Nisga'a
Total population
Nisga'a community members and officials at the dedication of their new government building in 2000.
5,495 (2016 census)
Regions with significant populations
Canada (British Columbia)
Languages
English • Nisga'a
Related ethnic groups
Gitxsan

People	Nisg̱a'a
Language	Nisqáʔamq
Country	Nisg̱a'a La̱xyip

The Nisga’a (English: /ˈnɪsɡɑː/; Nisga'a: Nisg̱a’a [nisqaʔa]), 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 Nishga is used by the Nishga Tribal Council, and some scholars claim that the term means 'people of the Nass River'. The name is a reduced form of [naːsqaʔ], which is a loan word from Tongass Tlingit, where it means 'people of the Nass River'.

The official languages of Nisg̱a’a are the Nisg̱a’a language and English.

Nisga’a culture

Society

Nisga’a society is organized into four tribes:

Ganhada (G̱anada, Raven)
Gispwudwada (Gisḵ’aast, Killer Whale)
Laxgibuu (Lax̱gibuu, Wolf)
Laxsgiik (Lax̱sgiik, Eagle)

Each tribe is further sub-divided into house groups – extended families with the same origins. Some houses are grouped together into clans – grouping of houses with same ancestors. Example:

Lax̱gibuu Tribe (Wolf Tribe)
- Gitwilnaak’il Clan (People Separated but of One)
  - House of Duuḵ
  - House of K’eex̱kw
  - House of Gwingyoo

Traditional cuisine

The Nisga’a traditionally harvest "beach food" all year round. This might include razor clams, mussels, oysters, limpets, scallops, abalone, fish, seaweed and other seafood that can be harvested from the shore. They also harvest salmon, cod, char, pike, trout and other freshwater fish from the streams, and hunt seals, fish and sea lion. The grease of the oolichan fish (Thaleichthys pacificus) is sometimes traded with other tribes, though nowadays this is more usually in a ceremonial context. They hunt mountain goat, marmot, game birds and more in the forests. The family works together to cook and process the meat and fish, roasting or boiling the former. They eat fish and sea mammals in frozen, boiled, dried or roasted form. The heads of a type of cod, often gathered half-eaten by sharks, are boiled into a soup that, according to folklore, helps prevent colds. The Nisga′a also trade dried fish, seal oil, fish oil, blubber and cedar.

Traditional houses

The traditional houses of the Nisga’a are shaped as large rectangles, made of cedar planks with cedar shake roofs, and oriented with the doors facing the water. The doors are usually decorated with the family crest. Inside, the floor is dug down to hold the hearth and conserve temperature. Beds and boxes of possessions are placed around the walls. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, around three or four extended families might live in one house; this is nowadays an uncommon practice. Masks and blankets might decorate the walls.

Traditional clothing

Prior to European colonization, men wore nothing in the summer, normally the best time to hunt and fish. Women wore skirts made of softened cedar bark and went topless. During the colder season, men wore cedar bark skirts (shaped more like a loincloth), a cape of cedar bark, and a basket hat outside in the rain, but wore nothing inside the house. Women wore basket hats and cedar blankets indoors and outdoors. Both sexes made and wore shell and bone necklaces. They rubbed seal blubber into their hair, and men kept their hair long or in a top knot. During warfare, men wore red cedar armour, a cedar helmet, and cedar loincloths. They wielded spears, clubs, harpoons, bows and slings. Wicker shields were common.

Geography

Approximately 2,000 people live in the Fudhu Valley. Another 5,000 Nisga’a live elsewhere in Canada, predominantly within the three urban societies noted in the section below.

Nisgaʼa villages

The Nisga’a people number about 7,000. In British Columbia, the Nisga’a Nation is represented by four villages:

Gitlaxtʼaamiks (formerly New Aiyansh) – nearly 800
Gitwinksihlkw (formerly Canyon City) – approximately 200
Lax̱g̱altsʼap (formerly Greenville) – more than 500
Ging̱olx (formerly Kincolith) – almost 400

Nisgaʼa diaspora

Many Nisga’a people have moved to cities for their opportunities. Concentrations are found in three urban areas outside traditional Nisga’a territory:

Terrace
Prince Rupert/Port Edward
Vancouver – there are approximately 1,500 Nisgaʼa in Vancouver, and others elsewhere in the Lower Mainland.

Nisga’a calendar/life

The Nisga’a calendar revolves around harvesting of foods and goods used. The original year followed the various moons throughout the year.

Hobiyee: Like a Spoon (February/March). This is the traditional time to celebrate the new year, also known as Hoobiyee. (Variations of spelling include: Hoobiyee, Hobiiyee, Hoobiiyee)
X̱saak: To Eat Oolichan (March). The oolichan return to the Nass River the end of February/beginning of March. They are the first food harvested after the winter, which marks the beginning of the harvesting year.
Mmaal: To Use Canoes Again (April). The ice begins to break on the river, allowing for canoes to be used again
Yansa’alt: Leaves Are Blooming (May). The leaves begin to flourish once again
Miso’o: Sockeye Salmon (June). Sockeye salmon are harvested
X̱maay: To Eat Berries (July). various berries are harvested
Wii Hoon: Great Salmon (August). Great amounts of salmon are harvested
Genuugwiikw: Trail of the Marmot (September). Small game such as marmots are hunted
X̱laaxw: To Eat Trout (October). Trout are the main staple for this month
Gwilatkw: To Blanket (November). The earth is "Blanketed" with snow
Luut’aa: To Sit (December). The sun is sitting in one spot
Ḵ’aliiyee: To Walk North (January). This time of year, the sun begins to go north (K’alii) again
Buxwlaks: To Blow Around (February). Blow around refers to the amount of wind during this time of year

Treaty

Main article: Nisga'a Final Agreement

On August 4, 1998, a land-claim was settled between the Nisga’a, the government of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada. As part of the settlement in the Nass River valley, nearly 2,000 km (770 sq mi) of land was officially recognized as Nisga’a, and a 300,000 dam (240,000 acre⋅ft) water reservation was also created. Bear Glacier Provincial Park was also created as a result of this agreement. The land-claim's settlement was the first formal treaty signed by a First Nation in British Columbia since the Douglas Treaties in 1854 (Vancouver Island) and Treaty 8 in 1899 (northeastern British Columbia). The land owned collectively is under internal pressures from the Nisga'a people to turn it over into a system of individual ownership. This would have an effect on the rest of Canada in regards to First Nations lands.

History

Main article: Tseax Cone

The Tseax Cone in a valley above and east of the Ksi Sii Aks (formerly Tseax River) was the source for an eruption during the 18th century that killed approximately 2,000 Nisga’a people from poisonous volcanic gases.

Government

The government bodies of the Nisgaʼa include the Nisgaʼa Lisims government, the government of the Nisgaʼa Nation, and the Nisgaʼa village governments, one for each of the four Nisgaʼa villages. The Nisgaʼa Lisims government (Nisga'a: Wilp SiʼAyuukhl Nisgaʼa) is in the Nisgaʼa Lisims Government Building in Gitlaxt'aamiks.

Office	English name	Nisga’a name	Tribe
President	Eva Clayton	Noxs Tsʼimuwa Jiixw	Ganada
Secretary-treasurer	Charles Morven	Bilaam ʼNeeḵhl	Ganada
Chairperson	Brian Tait	Gadim Sbayt Gan	Ganada
Chairperson, Council of Elders	Herbert Morven	Kʼeex̱kw	Laxgibuu
Chief councillors	Claude Barton, Sr, Ging̱olx	Maaksgum Gaak	Ganada
	Don Leeson, Lax̱g̱alts’ap	G̱aḵʼetgum Yee	Laxgibuu
	Elaine Moore, Gitwinksihlkw	Daaxheet	Ganada
	Calvin Morven, Gitlax̱tʼaamiks	Neexdax	Ganada
Nisg̱aʼa urban local representatives	Andrea Doolan, Tsʼamiks – Vancouver	Ganim Tsʼimaws	Giskʼaast
	Travis Angus, Tsʼamiks – Vancouver	Niʼismiou	Laxgibuu
	Keith Azak, Gitlax̱dax – Terrace		Laxsgiik
	Maryanne Stanley, Gitlax̱dax – Terrace		Giskʼaast
	Clifford Morgan, Gitmax̱maḵʼay – Prince Rupert/Port Edward	NiʼisḴʼanmalaa	Ganada
	Juanita Parnell, Gitmax̱maḵʼay – Prince Rupert/Port Edward		Laxsgiik

Museum

In 2011 the Nisg̱aʼa Museum, a project of the Nisga'a Lisims government, opened in Lax̱g̱altsʼap. It contains many historical artifacts of the Nisga'a people returned after many decades in major museums beyond the Nass Valley.

Prominent Nisga’a

Jordan Abel, poet
Frank Arthur Calder, Sim'oogit Wii Lisims hereditary chief, treaty negotiator, rights activist, legislator, president emeritus Nisga'a Lisims Government
Joseph Gosnell, hereditary chief Sim'oogit Hleek, treaty negotiator, former President Nisga'a Lisims Government
Norman Tait, hereditary chief – Sim'oogit G̱awaaḵ of wilp Luuya'as, master carver
Ron Telek, of Laxsgiik wilp Luuya'as, carver
Larry McNeil, Tlingit-Nisga'a photographer
Da-ka-xeen Mehner, Tlingit/Nisga'a photographer and installation artist
Patrick Robert Reid Stewart, architect

References

"Aboriginal Ancestry Responses (73), Single and Multiple Aboriginal Responses (4), Residence on or off reserve (3), Residence inside or outside Inuit Nunangat (7), Age (8A) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
^ The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Gale. 1998. p. 388. ISBN 978-0-7876-1085-2.
Rigsby, Bruce "Nisga'a Etymology", ms. University of Queensland.
"Article I, Section 4" (PDF). Constitution of Nisg̱a’a Nation. Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government. October 1998. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
"'Salvation Fish' That Sustained Native People Now Needs Saving". National Geographic News. 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ Seigel, Rachel (2018). 2018 book Indigenous Communities in Canada: Nisgaʼa Nation. 27 Stewart Rd., Collingwood, ON, Canada L9Y 4M7: Beech Street Books. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1-77308-189-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
"Nisgaʼa Nation Roils as LNG Deal Progresses", Wahmeesh G. Hamilton, The Tyee, 10 November 2014, accessed 28 August 2023
Nisga'a Annual Cycle www.nisgaanation.ca accessed 28 August 2023
Tremonti, Anna Maria (4 November 2013). "This Land is My Land". The Current. CBC Radio One. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
Nisgaʼa Final Agreement, Government. accessed 5 October 2011. Archived 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine

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