Ahousaht

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Traditional Ahousaht territory on Vancouver Island

The Ahousaht are Canadian Indians and belong to the Nuu-chah-nulth , a group of tribes or First Nations living on Vancouver Island and northwest Washington .

In their own spelling they are called 7aaẖuus7atẖ , pronounced “A-houz-at”. The name means something like "The People of Ahous", which means a place called Ahous Point in the southwest of Vargas Island . Today they live mainly on Flores Island , an island off the west coast of Vancouver Island, near Tofino . The name probably means something like "people who live with their backs to the land and the mountains".

The Ahousaht speak Wakash and are members of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, which represents 14 of the 16 Nuu-chah-nulth groups. The band , as these tribal associations are called in Canada, joined forces with the Keltsomaht in 1951 , then with the Manhousaht, forming today's Ahousaht Band or Ahousaht First Nation .

25 reserves with a total of 592 hectares around the center of Marktosis Indian Reservation No. 15 on Flores Island form their main habitat. Almost a third of the more than 1,930 members live within the reserve, which is connected to Tofino by seaplane and boat . This makes the Ahousaht by far the largest group of Nuu-chah-nulth.

history

As part of the Nuu-chah-nulth, the Ahousaht share the history of this ethnic group. They were certainly part of the maritime hunting culture that shaped the west coast of Vancouver Island from an early age.

Similar to their neighbors, they will initially have benefited from the boom in the fur industry until around 1810. Apparently they belonged to the allies of the Mowachaht chief Maquinna . At that time, their tribe still lived on the west coast of Vargas Island , and in the Calmus Passage and around Cyprus Bay in Clayoquot Sound .

Relocation to Flores Island

In 1824 the Ahousaht moved to Flores. Around this time they fought a 14-year war with the Otsosaht. According to Ahousaht lore, this was triggered by an attack by the Otsosaht on Vargas Island .

Similar to the neighboring tribes, previously unknown diseases such as smallpox (from 1824) and later tuberculosis were rampant . Most of the victims were the smallpox epidemic of 1862 , which raged across the entire Pacific coast of North America.

When Ahousaht attacked a merchant sloop in 1864 and put down the crew, a punitive expedition followed in the course of which 15 men died.

After 1870 proselytizing began to intervene massively in life. In 1874 Father AJ Brabant evangelized accompanied by the Bishop of Victoria . In 1888 the first mission station was established in Clayoquot.

The current reservations were assigned to the Ahousaht in 1889 by Indian Reserve Commissioner Peter O'Reilly . From 1890 the children were increasingly sent to mission schools. In 1899 the Christian Indian Residential School was established on Meares Island . A Presbyterian mission arose in Ahousaht on Flores Island .

A snapshot: the 1881 and 1891 censuses

The census shows that exactly 261 and 273 Ahousaht lived in the reservation in 1881 and 1891, respectively. Their chief was Nookamis in 1881, then 44 years old, with the database showing a second chief named Moqueena, who was also 44 years old. His family consisted of 25 members, that of his counterpart 16. Both chiefs also appear in the 1891 census, Nookamis is 55 years old, Moqueena 54 years old.

If professional information was given at all, then everyone was entered as "Fisherman" (80 times), except for the chief, who appears as the "Indian Tribal Chief" (2 times). The 261 people were distributed among 21 families.

You mote ook was the oldest at the age of 70, 13 said to be between 60 and 69, 12 between 50 and 59, with the number 50 appearing very often. This accumulation on the round number is even more evident in the 46 40- to 49-year-olds, which suggests estimates. 32 children were up to 3 years old, 13 between 4 and 6, 23 between 7 and 10, 42 between 11 and 18 - 110 of the 261 Ahousaht were minors by today's standards. With the establishment of the residential schools , around 40% of the population was “withdrawn” because they had to stay permanently in the boarding-like schools.

The majority of them already had recognizable Christian names, the older ones mostly traditional ones. Most of the transition seems to have taken place around 1874.

Around 1880 the Keltsomaht (qilhtsma? At h ) joined the Ahousaht after the majority of the men were killed in a hunt in the Pacific. These had already been amalgamated with the Quatsweaht (qwaatswii7at h ) and the Owinmitisaht (uu7inmitis7at h ). In the 1940s, the Federal Department of Indian Affairs also persuaded the few remaining Manhousaht (maan'u7is7at h ) to join the Ahousaht.

The 1891 census recorded 14 “Canoe Makers” from 10 families, most of them between 40 and 50 years old, the youngest 30, the oldest 64. In addition there were 55 “Seal Hunters” (seal hunters) from each of the 21 families at least one. The vast majority of them were between 20 and 40 years old, the oldest 50, the youngest 16. The 22 men referred to as "fishermen" came from 16 families, were up to 70 years old, mostly over 50, rarely under 40.

White immigrants

The rapid increase in immigration from Europe and the USA put the Ahousaht and their neighbors under further pressure, while logging and mining increasingly challenged the island ecology, which was the prerequisite for local culture and nutrition. In 1874 Frederick Thorberg opened the first shop on Stubb's Island, in 1889 the first shop was opened on Meares Island , soon even a hotel. The year before, the first white man moved to Tofino .

Between 1904 and 1910 the white population in Clayoquot Sound rose from 150 to 300. But the search for coal and metals was largely unsuccessful, so that the industry quickly came to a standstill. A 1911 agreement between Canada, the United States , Russia and Japan meant that the last remnants of the fur trade disappeared. The influx slowed down, but in 1923 Tofino was connected to the water supply and in 1956 to the road to Port Alberni .

Flores

Today the Ahousaht live in Marktosis (Maaktusiis) on Flores Island, which is now called Ahousaht (village). For purely administrative purposes, the Hesquiaht (around Hot Springs) and the Tla-o-qui-aht are also addressed as "bands". In the late 1940s, a system of elected councilors was introduced to represent these three bands. Paul Sam was the first elected chief councilor of the Ahousaht from 1949-62 . Therefore, when it comes to the term chief, a precise distinction must be made between hereditary head chief , i.e. the chief traditionally obtained through inheritance, and the elected chief councilor .

In addition, the Tla-o-qui-aht , the Hesquiaht and the Ahousaht together with the Toquaht and Ucluelet form the central region of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council . This central region is represented within the tribal council by a co-chairman . It is important that the hereditary chiefs are authorized to issue instructions to the elected representatives and councilors in this context and in traditional matters.

In 1984 the Western Canada Wilderness Committee supported the Nuu-chah-nulth tribes in their efforts to protect the Clayoquot Sound , an area of ​​2,620 km². These clashes filled the next two decades, and the Ahousaht Wild Side Heritage Trail is an attempt to protect the rainforest and local culture while also explaining to visitors. In addition, it serves as a kind of memory, if you will as a historical source collection. It was started in 1993 and drew 8,000 visitors in the first year, a rush the trail couldn't cope with. In 1994 the tribal council was determined to close it if nothing was done about the destruction. With funds from Youth Service Canada , 25 people were employed who carried out the necessary work within seven months. In addition, there are not only signs on the trail for the natural environment, but also for sites relevant to the Ahousaht culture and history.

Flores Island is only around 150 km² and has a circumference of 82 km. The Anderson Lake is the main drinking water reservoir.

present

In August 2015, 2,108 people were classified as Ahousaht, of whom 1,299 did not live in reservations, 86 lived in other reservations, 722 in their own.

For them there are three fixed points of “political and social solidarity”: the local group, the tribe and the family group. The local group was held together by a group of chiefs surrounded by an eight-member council. It bore the name of its original or current place of residence or the name of the hereditary chief.

The tribe united a group of people who were related through marriages, whose chiefs were in a fixed ranking system, and who went to a common summer or winter resort. Both a local group and a tribe could have the final syllable "-aht".

The local group was made up of families, or better family lines, who lived in a common multi-generation house. Within this group, the proximity to the common ancestor, i.e. predominantly the age, decided on the position in the family.

In addition to ferry and transport services and a few public service positions, fishing and tourism are the only sources of income. In addition, there is income from the ecological and cultural hiking trail established in 1993, which connects the main town with bays, forests, the highest mountain on the island (Mount Flores, 886 m) and other natural sights. At the same time you get explanations about the customs and history of the Ahousaht. Only 15 people started this 12 km long path on their own initiative as an eco-path, numerous helpers and sponsors supported them. It leads to Cow Bay, where gray whales congregate.

On July 23, 2009, Shawn Atleo , traditional Ahousaht chief, was elected chairman of the First Nations Congregation.

In November 2009, the Ahousaht and four other Nuu-chah-nulth tribes sued for permission to fish for commercial purposes ( Ahousaht Indian Band And Nation v. Canada Attorney General, 2009 BCSC 1494 ). At a town hall meeting in Nanaimo on February 2, 2018, an Ahousaht chief Greg Louie asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about it. He found Trudeau's replies that this was a long-running problem a delaying tactic. With regard to the negotiations on fishing rights he had promised, he did not hear the names of the responsible offices or persons, nor a time frame for them.

Culture

Relation to the natural environment

As Elder Roy Haiyupis explains, “Respect is the very core of our traditions, culture and existence. It's very fundamental to everything we come across in life ... Respect for nature requires a healthy level of protection from a healthy posture. It is wise to respect nature. Respect the spiritual ... It is not human to waste food. It is inhumane to be excessively exploited. "Protect" and "preserve" are key values ​​in respect for nature and for natural sources of life. Never injure or kill for athletic reasons. It destroys your honor. It destroys your integrity and reliability. Nature holds up the shield over us, or the natural barrier that, once destroyed, will strike back against you. "

Concept of property

Traditionally, all land belongs to the Ha'wiih , the hereditary chief - this includes rivers and fishing grounds, hunting and gathering areas, but also parts of the Pacific, or rather, the several miles of coastline. The entire tribal area including the villages is his property. But he shares this claim with various members of the tribe, such as the sub-chiefs , often his younger relatives. The daughters who leave the tribe are also given such rights so that their children do not forget their roots. Another type of property right is tupaati , which is more of a ceremonial privilege. These rights usually pass to the eldest son, several children or the daughter until they get married. These rights include, for example, the right to set up fish traps in certain places, fishing and collecting rights, including whaling rights.

The ha-hoolthee , the chief privileges and economic privileges, were resource -specific with the Ahousaht and their neighbors, i.e. H. the first salmon catch of the year belonged to the chief, herring u. a. was paid to him as a levy, etc. The sub-chiefs carried out these tasks until the 1950s. The beaches had their own guardians, the hitinkisnak . They even existed until almost the turn of the century.

All in all, birthrights and honors are very strongly represented. When the total of seven tribes were absorbed into the Ahousaht, every chief and his lineage retained all rights, even if they were not making use of them.

Land return

The Ahousaht are currently negotiating with Weyerhaeuser Ltd. to return the entire land within the reserve. Weyerhaeuser is the largest wood processor in Canada after it bought MacMillan Bloedel Limited in 1999 .

The Ahousaht have been negotiating with the governments of Canada and the Province of British Columbia since 1993. This involves the expansion, but also the privatization of the reservations and the abandonment of the traditional tribal area, as well as compensation.

See also

literature

  • Juliet Craig: “Nature was the provider”: traditional ecological knowledge and inventory of culturally significant plants and habitats in the Atleo River Watershed, Ahousaht Territory, Clayoquot Sound . Diss. University of Victoria, Victoria 1998.
  • Earl Maquinna George: Ahousaht plant knowledge. Oral account, as told to Nancy Turner, March 1994 . University of Victoria, Environmental Studies Program, Victoria BC (unpublished).
  • Stanley Sam Sr .: Ahousaht Wild Side Heritage Trail Guidebook . Vancouver 1997, ISBN 1-895123-40-2 .
  • NJ Turner: Atleo, ER (Chief Umeek), Pacific North American First Peoples and the environment . In: H. Coward (Ed.): Environment and development values ​​in the pacific . Center for Studies in Religion and Society, State University of New York, Albany NY 1998.
  • Wayne Suttles (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 7: Northwest Coast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1990. ISBN 0-87474-187-4 .
  • Peter S. Webster: As far as I know: reminiscences of an Ahousat elder , Campbell River Museum and Archives, Campbell River BC 1983.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ On the distribution of the reservations according to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , First Nation Profiles: Reserves / Settlements / Villages, Ahousaht ( Memento of March 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
  2. ↑ To the database .
  3. ^ According to First Nation Profiles: Registered Population, Ahousaht ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ).
  4. ^ Atleo elected new AFN chief . In: The Globe and Mail , July 23, 2009
  5. ↑ Ahousaht Indian Band And Nation v. Canada Attorney General, 2009 BCSC 1494 . ( Memento of June 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Indigenous Peoples. Issues and Resources, November 13, 2009
  6. ^ Nanaimo Bulletin , February 11, 2018
  7. ↑ “Respect is the very core of our traditions, culture and existence. It is very basic to all we encounter in life ... Respect for nature requires a healthy state of stewardship with a healthy attitude. It is wise to respect nature. Respect the Spiritual ... It is not human to waste food. It is inhuman to overexploit. “Protect and Conserve” are key values ​​in respect of nature and natural food sources. Never harm or kill for sport. It is degrading to your honor…. It challenges your integrity and accountability. Nature has that shield or protective barrier [that], once broken, will hit back at you. " Roy Haiyupis, Nuu-Chah-Nulth, quoted in: Turner and Atleo, 1998