Gitxsan

The Gitxsan or Gitksan (pronunciation: "GIT-san", in Canada mostly: "GIT-k-san") are a multi- First Nations tribal group in the western part of the Canadian province of British Columbia . Their traditional tribal area covered about 33,000 km² in the catchment area of ​​the Middle Skeena River to its headwaters and its northern tributaries; In addition, the closely related Gitanyow , who are mostly counted among the Gitxsan, claimed an approximately 17,000 km² extensive tribal territory ( Ga Lax'yip Gitanyow ) along the river basins of the Middle and Upper Nass River and the river basin of the Upper Skeena River (Kitwanga and Kispiox Rivers ). Their name is derived from Git ("people of / from") and from Xsan or Ksan ("fog river"), their name for the Skeena River. Gitxsan means something like "people from the fog river, ie from the Skeena River".

The Gitxsan used to be together with the linguistically and culturally closely related Nisga'a (Nisg̱a'a - "people along the Nass River") in the north and the Tsimshian (Ts'msyan - "people in the middle of the Skeena River") on the Pacific coast in South designated with the collective term Tsimshian . Since the Nisga'a and in particular the Gitxsan had no direct access to the Pacific - like the Tsimshian - and lived inland, they were called the Interior or Inland Tsimshian (inland Tsimshian) ; the Tsimshian in the mouth of the Skeena River in the Pacific and on the offshore islands, however, were referred to as Coast Tsimshian (coastal Tsimshian) . Despite their inland location, the Gitxsan are part of the northwest coast culture . According to their self-image, however, the three peoples are independent ethnic groups.

Traditional territory

Gitxsan at Hazelton, British Columbia Archives

The Gitxsan lived in the catchment area of ​​the middle Skeena River between the Kitselas Canyon and the headwaters of the river, including its northern tributaries such as the Bulkley River , Morice River , Kitwanga River or Kispiox River . The Tsimshian lived south downstream of the Skeena River to its estuary, the Nisga'a (Nisg̱a'a) in the west and northwest along the Nass River , in the north along the Stikine River the Tahltan and Stikine Tlingit (Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan) , in the northeast and East the Sekani , in the south the middle Bulkley River upstream the Wet'suwet'en , and in the east and southeast on the Babine River the Babine of the same name . The Wet'suwet'en and Babine - often both wrongly referred to as the Western or Northern Carriers - belong, like the Tahltan, to the Northern Athabasques and are therefore not linguistically related to the Gitxsan.

Today's settlements

Today (as of March 2014) the First Nations or bands of the approx. 7,500 officially registered Gitxsan live in several settlements that are based on two regional dialects - the Upriver / Eastern dialect in the Gigeenix region (" (the Skeena River) upstream") , ie towards the east further inland) and the Downriver / Western dialect in the Gyeets region (" (the Skeena River) downstream", ie towards the Pacific coast in the west):

Gitxsan or Gitxsanimax̱ ("Upriver / Eastern dialect") speaking bands in Gigeenix ("upstream", "Eastern region"):

• Old Hazelton (traditional name: Gitanmaax or Git-en'maaks (Western dialect) - "People of the birch bark torch", today: Gitanmaax Band , population: 2,344)
• Kispiox (traditional name: Anspa'yaxw or Ansbayakws (Western dialect) - "people in hiding or at the place of refuge", today: Kispiox Band Council , population: 1,591)
• Glen Vowell (traditional name: Sik-e-Dakh or Sigit'ox (Western dialect), today: Glen Vowell Indian Band , population: 414)

Gitsken or Gitsenimx̱ ("Downriver / Western Dialect") speaking bands in Gyeets ("downstream", "Western Region"):

• Kitseguecla (traditional name: Gitsegukla or Gitjigyukwhla ', derived from Git (people of / from) and Segukla (Jigyukwhla') , the name of a nearby mountain, today: Gitsegukla Indian Band (formerly: Kitseguecla / Skeena Crossing), population: 985 )
• Kitwanga (traditional name: Gitwangak or Gitwing̱ax̱ - "people from the place of the rabbits", was the westernmost village of the Gitskan, today: Gitwangak Indian Band (formerly: Kitwanga), population: 1,291)
  • Cedarvale (traditional name: Minskinish or Meanskaniist, belongs to the Gitwangak Indian Band as Koonwat Indian Reserve No. 7. )
• Gitanyow (traditional name: Gitanyow or Git-enyaaw - "Numerous people", today: Gitanyow Band (formerly: Kitwancool), population: 825) The Gitanyow have strong cultural ties to the Gitxsan tribes in the south and east. Although they shared a common language, culture, tradition and clans with them, they were able to maintain their separate identities.

The village of 'Ksan ( ' Ksan Historical Village and Museum ) is a historical settlement and at the same time a museum village in the reserve of the Gitanmaax Band, which directly shows the culture and history of the Gitxsan in the form of a so-called “living museum” wants to bring the visitors closer.

About 80 percent of the population in the valley between Kitselas Canyon and the source of the Skeena now belong to the Gitxsan, to which about 13,000 people are counted. Outside of their traditional territory, Gitxsan also live in Terrace , Smithers, and Vancouver .

Many of the names go back to myths and legends. The name Gitanmaax or Git-en'maaks ("people of the birch bark torch") goes back to the mother of three babies who lured salmon with the help of a burning birch bark torch; hence the name means something like "people who attract (salmon) with fire".

Conflicts with neighboring athabasques

The Gitanyow were also known by the Gitxsan (Gitksan) as "awesome warrior people" or as "people in a small village"; Both names indicate severe population losses through smallpox and other diseases as well as protracted battles against neighboring tribes - in particular against some groups of the Tahltan (also known as Eastern Tsestaut ) and Tsetsaut (Western Tsetsaut), North Athapaskan-speaking peoples who repeatedly tried to to overcome the traditional northern border of the territories of the Gitanyow and Gitxsan tribes. After extensive and protracted fighting, the Tsetsauts were almost exterminated by allies Gitanyow, Gitxsan, Nisga'a, Tsimshian and Tlingit (and later had to seek protection from their former enemies, who they now kept as slaves ) and the Tahltan, already weakened by epidemics, heavily added. After the defeat of the Tsetsaut, the Gitanyow took over their territories and expanded their tribal territory to the north considerably.

Present situation of the athabasques

The Lax̱wiiyip / Laxwiiyiip (Eastern Tsetsaut, Portland Inland Athabasken or Stikine Tahltan) from the upper reaches of the Nass, Skeena and Stikine Rivers as well as from Meziadin Lake had partly joined the Gitxsan and adopted their language and culture (and were also at the violent prostration and enslavement of their tribal relatives - the Tsetsaut or Western Tsetsaut), others tried to maintain their identity as Lax̱wiiyip (Eastern Tsetsaut) as northern neighbors and trading partners of the Gitxsan. At the beginning of the 19th century, the last surviving Lax̱wiiyip (Eastern Tsetsaut) left their tribal area and joined the Tahltan (also called Eastern Tsetsaut) and Bear Lake Tsek'ehne . Their descendants can now be found in the Iskut First Nation and Tahltan First Nation (Sterritt et al. 1998b).

Those Lax̱wiiyip (Eastern Tsetsauts) as well as some Tsetsauts (Western Tsetsauts) who tried to stay in their ancestral territory now had to associate themselves more closely with the Gitxsan - since they now held political and military power over them and incorporated their territory. Today, however, they still identify as a separate ethnic group and as descendants of the raven clan, the Lax̱wiiyip (Eastern Tsetsaut) and with Tsetsaut ancestors. As Skii km Lax Ha First Nation , however, they are not currently recognized by either the government of Canada or the province as a separate government or first nation under the Indian Act ; they are only viewed as a house group ( wilp ) of the Gitanmaax Band within the Gitxsan Nation.

Something similar can be said of the survivors of the Tsetsaut (Western Tsetsaut), who lost their separate identities as slaves under the Tlingit and Nisga'a; their former tribal area along the Portland and Behm Canal is now claimed as a traditional area by the Nisga'a against the Canadian government.

Language and culture

language

Together with the Tsimshian (Ts'msyan) ("people in the middle of the Skeena River") and Nisga'a (Nisg̱a'a) ("people along the Nass River") speak the Gitxsan ("people from the Fog River, ie from the Skeena River" ) one of the four varieties of the Tsimshian (Tsmksian) languages , which today are generally counted as part of the Penuti language family ; Within the Penuti, the Tsimshian languages, together with the Chinook (Tsinúk) languages ​​of the various Chinook groups, are also referred to as Maritime Penuti or Coastal Penuti .

Their language, the Gitxsanimaax (depending on the dialect: Gitxsanimax̱ or Gitsenimx̱) is often used by linguists together with the Nisga'a (Nisg̱a'amḵ or Nisga'a Ts'amiks) (outdated: Nass) of the Nisga'a as a language, Nass – Gitksan (also: Interior Tsimshian or Inland Tsimshian, dt. Inner Tsimshian), considered and the two varieties only viewed as respective dialects of Nass-Gitksan - since both tribal groups are linguistically and culturally closely related, but politically independent ethnic groups consider, the two varieties are now considered to be two closely related indigenous languages.

With approx. 930 (2011) speakers, the Gitxsanimaax is one of the severely endangered languages , since mostly only the grandparents' generation can speak this as their mother tongue and the following generations usually speak the dominant Canadian English , and they also speak about the same number the related Nisg̱a'amḵ (Nisga'a Ts'amiks) as a second language ; Gitxsanimaax is divided into two regional dialects:

• Gitxsan or Gitxsanimax̱ (also: "Upriver dialect" or "Eastern dialect") in Gigeenix ("upstream", "Eastern region")
• Gitsken or Gitsenimx̱ (also: "Downriver Dialekt" or "Western Dialect") in Gyeets ("downstream", "Western Region")

Culture

As already stated in the introduction above, the Gitxsan were previously often together with the northern Nisga'a (Nisg̱a'a) in the interior and the southern living real. Tsimshian (Ts'msyan) on the Pacific coast in the south collectively known as Tsimshian . In order to distinguish the inland Nisga'a and Gitxsan from the Tsimshian living on the coast, both peoples were called Interior or Inland Tsimshian (inland Tsimshian) and the Tsimshian as Coast Tsimshian (coastal Tsimshian) . Despite their inland location, the Gitxsan are part of the northwest coast culture . According to their self-image, however, the three peoples are independent ethnic groups.

There are cultural and political similarities to the Wet'suwet'en living upstream in the valley of the middle Bulkley River , which can be explained by a long cultural exchange, the Gitsegukla also spoke the Witsuwit'en dialect of the Babine-Witsuwit'en (Nadot ' en-Wets'uwet'en) of the neighboring Hagwilget Village First Nation of the Wet'suwet'en. Trade and family contacts also existed with Tse Keh Nay (Sekani) in the east, so that a part - namely the Fort Connelly Band - of the Takla Lake First Nation (who identify themselves today as Dakelh ) - have Gitxsan ancestors and up to before Recently partly Gitxsanimaax spoke. Since the Tse Keh Nay (Sekani) lived further inland and in the mountains, they were referred to by the Gitxsan and the Nisga'a as T'set'sa'ut ("people in the interior"). Descendants of the Fort Connelly Band can also be found under the Gitanmaax Band and the Iskut First Nation , which is one of the Tahltan (Nahanni) living in the north . It must be noted here that the Wet'suwet'en, Dakelh, Tse Keh Nay (Sekani) and the Tahltan all belong to the North Athapaskan-speaking peoples.

Political and social organization

The matrilineal society of the Gitxsan and Gitanyow was divided into about 50 exogamous Gitxsan and eight Gitanyow Wilps (house groups), which consisted of one or more closely related families, each of which traced their descent to a parent mother through a maternal line ( Matri-Lineage ). The Wilps, which can comprise between 20 and more than 250 people, have their own lax'yip (settlement areas with hunting rights and fishing grounds) and are therefore the social, economic and political basis of society. The Wilps were (are) led by hereditary Simgiigyet (male chiefs or "House Chiefs", singular: Simogyet ) or Sigidimhanak (female chiefs or "House Chiefs", singular: Sigidim nak ' ), led by K'aax (sub-chiefs or so-called . wing chiefs are advised) and assisted in special matters such. B. Use and management of forestry , tourism or companies related to commercial fishing .

Each Wilp or each house group also belonged to one of the four matrilineal traditional Gitxsan P'deek ( clans ), whose name varies depending on the dialect; Here the clan names are first listed in Gitxsanimax̱ (Eastern dialect) and then in Gitsenimx̱ (Western dialect):

• Lax Gibuu ( Wolf Clan) - identical to the Laxgibuu / Lax̱gibuu (Wolf Clan / Tribe) of the Nisga'a or with the Laxgibuu / Laxgyibuu (Wolf Clan) of the Tsimshian
• Lax See'l ( raven clan) or Lax Ganeda / Ganada ( frog clan) - identical to the Ganhada / G̱anada (raven clan / tribe) of the Nisga'a (a clan belonging to this also identified itself with G̱anaaw̓ / Ganaaw - Frog) or with the G̱anhada / G̱a̱nhada (raven clan) of the Tsimshian
• Gisgaast or Giskaast ( Stauden-Feuerkraut- Clan, English Fireweed Clan ) - identical with the Gispwudwada / Gisḵ'aast ( orca clan / tribe) of the Nisga'a or with the Gispwudwada / Gisbutwada (orca clan) of the Tsimshian
• Lax Skiik ( Bald Eagle Clan) - this clan only exists in Gyeets under the western Gitxsan Wilps - identical with the Laxsgiik / Lax̱sgiik (Bald Eagle Clan / Tribe) of the Nisga'a or with the La̱xsgiik / La̱xsgyiik (Bald Eagle Clan) the Tsimshian

Several related or allied Wilps together formed a Huwilp ( tribe , plural of Wilp ), which saw itself as a unit and is now politically organized vis-à-vis the Canadian government as a First Nation or band.

Since, as already mentioned above, the Gitxsan and Gitanyow were divided into exogamous and matrilinear Wilps (house groups), Lineages (family groups), Huwilps (tribes) and cross-tribes P'deek (clans), the children automatically belonged to the Wilp (house group) as well to the mother's p'deek (clan); belonged to B. the father of the Gisgaast / Giskaast (Fireweed Clan) and the mother of the Lax Gibuu (Wolf Clan), their children also belonged to the Lax Gibuu (Wolf Clan). If the father belonged to the Gitxsan / Gitanyow and the mother originally came from another tribe, the children here also belonged to the P'deek (clan) and tribe of the mother - and not to the Gitxsan / Gitanyow.

Since the Gitxsan / Gitanyow believed that every P'deek (clan) traced back to a common ancestral mother , their marriage rules did not allow marriages within the same P'deek (clan). As a result, they were forced to find their future spouses outside their own P'deek (clan) within their Huwilp (tribe) or among neighboring peoples also organized in matrilineal clans - Tsimshian , Nisga'a , Tlingit , Haida , Wet'suwet'en , Babine or Dakelh - so that these mutual exogamous marriages between two (or more) groups became the basis of comprehensive alliances between (as with the Athapasques even ethnically and linguistically) different peoples (see exchange of women ). For the tribes it was not linguistic or ethnic origin that was important, but membership of the mother's P'deek (clan), and since all tribes believed that the clans were related to one another, they could also seek help from clan members in times of need or war put under neighboring trunks. So considered z. B. the members of the Lax Gibuu (wolf clan) of the Gitxsan / Gitanyow the tribe members of the Laxgibuu (wolf clan / tribe) of the Nisga'a and Tsimshian, of the Ch'aak '/ Gooch naa (eagle / wolf clan) the Tlingit, the Kaadaas gaah Kiiguwaay (raven / wolf clan) the Haida, the Gitdumden (wolf / bear clan) the Wet'suwet'en, the CheYonne (wolf clan) the Tahltan (eastern Tsetsaut) and the Wolf clan of the Tsetsaut (Western Tsetsaut) and Lax̱wiiyip (Portland Inlet Athabascans or Stikine Tahltan) as blood relatives with a common ancestor.

Kispiok Huwilp

Today's First Nation lived along the Kispiok River to its confluence with the Skeena River and consists of several wilps (house groups), which belong to three of the traditional P'deek (clans) - the Gisgaast (Fireweed Clan) , the Lax Gibuu (Wolf -Clan) and the Lax See'l (Frog Clan) - belong.

Gitanyow Huwilp

Today's Gitanyow Band inhabited a Lax'yip (traditional territory) of approx. 6,273.42 km² along the middle Nass River and the upper reaches of the Kitwanga and Kispiox Rivers and consists of eight wilps (house groups), which belong to two of the traditional P ' deek (Clans) - the Lax Gibuu (Wolf Clan) or the (Lax) Ganeda (Frog Clan / Raven Clan) - belong to:

The Gitanyow Lax Gibuu consists of the following four Wilps:

• Gwass Hla'am
• Malii
• Haitsimsxw (Haizimsque)
• Wii Litsxw (Wii'litsxw)

The Gitanyow (Lax) Ganeda consists of the following four Wilps:

• Gamlakyeltxw (Gamlaxyeltxw)
• Gwinuu
• Watakhayetsxw
• Luuxhon (Luux Hon)

history

Early history

The area on the Skeena River has been around since at least 4000 BC. Inhabited. Finds at Hagwilget Canyon near Hazelton indicate settlement around 2000 to 1500 BC. Chr. Already at this time, salmon fishing on the Skeena, Babine and Bulkley Rivers played a central role; game was hunted in the area between these rivers outside of the salmon season. Many clans go back to a place called Temlaxam. Their ancestors had to leave this place because, according to legend, they mistreated mountain goats, and they were killed after a series of environmental disasters perhaps around 3000 BC. Forced to leave the area that cannot be precisely located.

Before 1700, Tsimshian built a fortified village consisting of five longhouses that controlled trade across the Kitwanga River until 1835, but above all the 60 km long Grease Trail ( Grease is the buttery fat of the candle fish ), the Nass and Skeena Rivers connected with each other. As Gitwangak Battle Hill , the hill is now a National Historic Site.

colonization

The influence of the Europeans has only been felt indirectly since James Cook's landing on the west coast, for example in the form of middlemen. Around 450 sailing ships landed on the west coast between 1774 and 1825, almost exclusively to get furs, especially from otters. Fur traders also came from the east , who set up their trading posts near the southern neighbors of the Gitxsan. These were Fort McLeod (1805), Fort George and Fort St. James (both 1807). Fort Kilmaurs, the closest fort to the Gitxsan area, was built in 1822. However, the Tlingit continued to control three-quarters of the trade, and the British were initially unable to assert themselves against them. On behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company , William Brown first made direct contact with the Gitxsan in 1822, of whom he reported that they have two main and five secondary villages, traded with Russians and Tsimshians and owned rifles. In 1826, Fort Connolly on Bear Lake was the first trading post in the Gitxsan area. Fort Simpson was built in 1831 at the mouth of the Nass River , but in 1834 they moved to Lax Kwa'alaams, today's Port Simpson, in the Tsimshian area. The British thereby improved their position in regional trade, but by no means dominated it. In 1836, however, the chief of Fort Simpson Tsimshian Lelaic succeeded in inserting the Skeena Canyon and thus Kitwanga into his trading empire.

It is unclear whether the Gitxsan were affected by the pre-1787 smallpox epidemic that the Tlingit suffered. Further outbreaks of the disease hit the region in 1836 and 1837, but it was not until the smallpox epidemic of 1862 that around 30% of the Gitxsan fell victims that were particularly severe . In other groups, the mortality was significantly higher. From 1866 to 1868 the HBC tried to set up a trading post on the Skeena River near today's Terrace, but the project failed. However, Thomas Hankin stayed in the area and established himself near Gitanmaax. It was only with the gold rush from 1871 that more whites came to the area and more posts were created. This is how Hazelton came about, where there was soon a post office, the first postmaster of which was Hankin. Although attempts were made to sail the Skeena with motor ships, Hazelton remained inaccessible for a long time. It was not until 1890 that the first ship, the Caledonia, sailed permanently on the river, which is still difficult to navigate.

When gold prospectors did not extinguish their campfire adequately in 1872, a devastating fire broke out in which Gitsegukla was destroyed. When the Gitxsan blocked trade, the provincial government dispatched two gunboats, the HMS Scout and the HMS Boxer, in anticipation of an "Indian uprising" . Lieutenant Governor Joseph Trutch traveled north and negotiated with the chiefs.

Case Delgamuukw v. British Columbia

The Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en claims to land - occupying approximately 58,000 km² - were upheld in litigation before the Supreme Court of Canada in 1997 without a final determination as to the legality of these claims .

The case of Delgamuukw v. British Columbia started in 1984 and tried to bypass the tedious normal process. In the first instance, the provincial government took the view that all land rights had been canceled by the colonial government before British Columbia's accession to the Canadian confederation . The Supreme Court contradicted this.

2008 contract proposal

Contrary to the treaty commission set up by the province, the BC Treaty Commission , which has existed since 1994, the Gitxsan are demanding exemption from the provisions of the Indian Act and thus from the electoral leadership that it has implemented. According to this law, the negotiators of the Indian tribes (Indian bands) had to live on the reservation and be members of the tribal council (band council). However, the Gitxsan had always sent their hereditary chiefs into negotiations, which were broken off in 1996. The Delgamuukw decision gave them a tailwind.

With the electoral chief system, Canada had largely overturned the influence of the hereditary chiefs and replaced it with a tribal bureaucracy that was materially dependent on the government. In mid-2008, the Gitxsan called for the removal of this legislation and wanted to forego tax exemptions and special benefits that went beyond what every municipality in Canada or the province is entitled to. In addition, more than half of the Gitxsan now live outside the reserve, albeit within the traditional territory, which covers 33,000 km². A campaign should support the cause by means of newspaper advertisements, especially during the 2010 Winter Olympics .

literature

• Margaret Anderson, Marjorie M. Halpin (Eds.): Potlatch at Gitsegukla: William Beynon's 1945 Field Notebooks. University of British Columbia Press, 2000, ISBN 0-7748-0743-1 .
• Terry Glavin : A Death Feast in Dimlahamid . 1990, ISBN 0-921586-14-0 .

Web links

Commons : Gitxsan  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Site of the Gitxsan Nation (en.)
• Judgment in the Delgamuukw case (en.)
• Analysis of the Delgamuukw case (en.)
• Archives of the Delgamuukw case
• Map of the First Nations of the northwest coast (including Gitxsan)

Remarks

1. ↑ Map of Gitanyow Territories (with a list of traditional political and social organization and related terms)
2. ↑ THE GITANYOW AYOOKXW: THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GITANYOW NATION ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Gitxsan language groups ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ^ Native Indian Bands of British Columbia
5. ↑ Source for population: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Registered Population as of March, 2014 ( Memento of the original from March 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Homepage of the Gitanmaax Band ( memento of the original from June 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ homepage Kispiok tape Council
8. ^ Homepage of the Sik-e-dakh (Glen Vowell) Indian Band
9. ↑ Homepage of the Gitsegukla Indian Band
10. ^ Homepage of the Gitanyow Band
11. ↑ Homepage of the 'Ksan Historical Village and Museum ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ Kispiok Forst District - Gitanyow Study Unit: Unit 10, p. 63.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ Appendix 25-A Ethnographic Overview Report
14. ↑ further variants: Giklsan, Gitksan, Gityskyan
15. ^ First Voices - Nisga'a language
16. ↑ Here Is the Story of GalksiGabin - A Modern Auto-Ethnography of a Nisga'a Man
17. ↑ further variants: Nass, Nisgha, Nisg̱a'a, Nishka, Niska, Nishga, Nisqa'a, also sometimes referred to as Sim'algax - "true language"
18. ^ Neil J. Sterritt, Robert Galois: Tribal Boundaries in the Nass Watershed. 1998, ISBN 0-7748-0661-3 , p. 34.
19. ↑ Tse Keh Nay Traditional and Contemporary Use and Occupation at Amazay (Duncan Lake)
20. ↑ Wilps Nii Kyap Wilps Miluulak Gitxsan Nation
21. ↑ as T'set'sa'ut , the Gitxsan and Nisga'a also referred to the Kaska , the actual Tsetsaut and other northern tribes
22. ↑ Sekani Indians of Canada
23. ^ Canada's First People - Subarctic People
24. ↑ The peoples of the Wet'suwet'en, Babine and Dakelh, who belong to the northern Athapasques, took over the clan system of the neighboring Tsimshian-speaking groups and were also divided into several clans, Wet'suwet'en: Gilseyhu (Big Frog Clan) , Laksilyu (Little Frog Clan), Gitdumden (Wolf / Bear Clan), Laksamshu (Fireweed Clan), Tsayu (Beaver Clan), Babine: Likh c'ibu (Bear Clan), Likh tsa mis xu (Beaver clan), Jilh tsekh xu (frog clan) and Gilanton (caribou clan) and Dakelh: Likh ji bu (bear clan), Gilhanten (caribou clan), Jihl tse yu (frog clan) and Likh sta Mis yu (clan of beavers).
25. ^ Tahltan Clans ( Memento from June 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
26. ↑ The indigenous clan names of the Tsetsaut and Lax̱wiiyip are unfortunately not passed down
27. ^ Building a New Relationship: Recognition, Reconciliation, Respect & the Gitanyow Huwilp
28. ↑ Gitanyow Huwilp Society
29. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Gwaas Hla'am Map
30. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Malii Map
31. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Haitsimsxw Map
32. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Wii Litsxw Map
33. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Gamlakyeltxw Map
34. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Gwinuu Map
35. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Watakhayetsxw Map
36. ↑ Gitanyow Wilp - Luux Hon Map
37. ↑ Margaret Anderson, Marjorie M. Halpin (Eds.): Potlatch at Gitsegukla: William Beynon's 1945 Field Notebooks. 2000, p. 195.
38. ↑ Jane Stevensson: Sternwheelers on the Skeena. In: Northword. June / July 2009, p. 42f.
39. ↑ His full name is: Delgamuukw, also known as Earl Muldoe, suing on his own behalf and on behalf of all the members of the Houses of Delgamuukw and Haaxw (and others) v. Her Majesty The Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia and The Attorney General of Canada ( Delgamuukw, also known as Earl Muldoe, is suing Her Majesty the on his behalf and on behalf of all members of the Wilps of Delgamuukw and Haaxw (and others) Queen, represented by the Province of British Columbia and the Attorney General of Canada ).
40. ↑ Text of the Delgamuukw decision of the Supreme Court (en) ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
41. ↑ Gitxsan break treaty mold with 'new plan'. After 14 years spinning their wheels in BC Treaty Commission negotiations, the Gitxsan people of the Skeena River Valley in northern BC are on a mission to break the mold. ( Memento of the original from August 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Vancouver Sun. July 28, 2008.