Tla-o-qui-aht
The Tla-o-qui-aht (tla7uukwi7at h ) (formerly Clayoquot ) are Canadian Indians who live on Vancouver Island on the Pacific coast. They speak Wakash and belong to the Nuu-chah-nulth . In relation to the government, they were mainly represented by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council until 2008 .
They officially call themselves Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations . The name means "people who are different from what they once were".
Of the total of 968 Tla-o-qui-aht (May 2010), 321 live in the 12 reserves with a total area of around 350 hectares. Another 23 live in other reservations, the majority, 624 Tla-o-qui-aht, live outside. The reserves are located on Meares Island and Indian Island to the southeast, in Clayoquot Sound on the north bank of the Heynen Channel, on Ehachis Island and on Wickaninnish Bay, plus other areas around Kennedy Lake. The main places of residence are Opitsat on Meares Island and Owista , which is between the Pacific Rim National Park and Tofino .
history
Early history
The history of the Tla-o-qui-aht goes back at least to the 8th century. Oral tradition links the tribe to the village of T'akw'aa in western Barkley Sound . The most famous chief was Wickaninnish , a contemporary of James Cook and John Meares .
John Meares
On June 12, 1788, John Meares saw from his ship the mountain that so prominently dominates the island of Meares. The next morning several canoes visited the ship. The two chiefs, "Hanna" and "Detootche", like their men, were evidently fearless. They were extremely friendly, shook hands with everyone on board and invited them to visit.
But Meares wanted to meet the great chief Wickaninnish . Meares was invited to a party and admired the rich table and otter skins . The piles of the house were so large that they would have towered over the main masts of a great sailor. Meares and Wickaninnish agreed that the chief would provide furs and that the captain would return next year. Meares presented the chief with gifts, including pistols and muskets , for which he received 150 otter skins.
But in 1789 the four ships that Meares had sent got caught up in the conflict between Great Britain and Spain for supremacy in the region. His ships were boarded by the fleet of the Spanish captain Don Estevan José Martinez and his crews were taken to South America. Meares filed a petition in the House of Commons in May 1790 . But the conflict was only ended by the Nootka Convention in 1790 and 1794.
Fort Defiance
On 18 February 1791, the published Columbia Rediviva from Boston , a US ship under the command of Robert Gray , the first time in Clayoquot Sound . But the initially good neighborhood did not last long. When Attoo, a Hawaiian , deserted to the Indians, Gray unceremoniously captured Tootiscosettle, the older brother of Chief Wickaninnish , and exchanged him for the deserter. Gray then sailed north to purchase furs, then south again to Cape Flattery . Eventually he returned to Meares Island to spend the winter here, for which purpose he kept bricks on board. So from the beginning of October 1791 his men set up a post called Fort Defiance , around 5 km northeast of Opitsat, the main town of Tla-o-qui-aht (in Adventure Cove in Lemmens Inlet on Meares Island). Gray, who had the winter camp torn down in March of the following year, sent John Boit on March 27, 1792 to burn down Opitsat. The Tla-o-qui-aht had fled in time, and on April 2, Gray's ship left Clayoquot Sound.
Opitsat was rebuilt quickly, but the process was never forgotten (see below).
The Tonquin disaster
One of the greatest catastrophes in its history happened to the Tla-o-qui-aht in June 1811 when a fur merchant ship anchored in Clayoquot Sound . Chief Nuukmis felt betrayed by the traders and tried to board the ship. His men killed the entire crew, except for one translator, but one of the last survivors detonated the gunpowder. Around 150 Tla-o-qui-aht warriors were killed in this huge explosion. This loss was so devastating that the women disguised themselves as warriors as soon as another tribe approached their territory. Also, no fur trader dared to visit them for decades.
Epidemics and further population decline
From the 1820s, previously unknown diseases such as smallpox and flu reached the region and further decimated the Tla-o-qui-aht, similar to the other First Nations on Vancouver Island. The censuses of 1881 and 1891 show the population decline. The already heavily decimated Tla-o-qui-aht decreased within ten years from 329 to only 252 people. For this purpose, they were assigned reservations by Commissioner Peter O'Reilly in 1889 .
Dwindling resources
After 1900 they were gradually withdrawn from their natural resources. On the one hand, the wood industry penetrated the remote region, initially on a modest scale. On the other hand, the claim to fishing rights was given to individuals, not to the tribes. The British understanding of private property, which is tied to natural or legal persons, increasingly supplanted the inappropriate idea of property of the Tla-o-qui-aht.
From 1920 the system of residential schools was introduced. All First Nations children between the ages of 7 and 15 were required to attend these schools. This system was initially to become one of the main levers of assimilation policy. However, the violent conditions in these schools until 1983, when the last of these schools (in Tofino ) was closed, led to a wave of lawsuits that led to detailed documentation of the conditions in the courts. Both the Canadian government and the operators concerned, primarily the churches, apologized to the victims, but reparations have been slow.
The increasing self-organization of the Nuu-chah-nulth in the tribal council since 1978, as well as their own companies that were supposed to get their hands on natural resources, was a helpful step that would probably not have been achieved without international support in the dispute over the Clayoquot Sound .
On the other hand, the enforced Indian Act led to internal power structures that not only stood in opposition to traditional forms of representation, but also encouraged corruption and nepotism .
The 1984/85 trial
In 1984 the Tla-o-qui-aht proclaimed Meares Island, which was threatened with deforestation, to be a tribal park and demanded - for the first time - protection in recognition of its cultural autonomy. When they claimed Meares Island as their cultural and natural heritage, and their tribal council wanted to enforce this claim in court, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council was looking for someone who was familiar with the history of the region. The choice fell on Barry Gough .
The opponents of the process were the government of Canada (or the British Crown), the provincial government and the then largest timber company , MacMillan Bloedel . The lawyers Jack Woodward, David Rosenberg and Paul Rosenberg were hired. Tom Berger represented the dispute concerning the so-called Tree License 44 , which MacMillan Bloedel guaranteed logging rights. The Nuu-chah-nulth council, supported by the Friends of Clayoquot Sound , the Western Canada Wilderness Committee and the Sierra Club , reached a court in 1985 to have the tree felling stopped.
MacMillan Bloedel had previously tried to create a fait accompli by taking a ship to the island with loggers who were not stopped by several dozen boats. But Moses Martin, the elected Chief Councellor of the Tla-o-qui-aht, read from the logging license of 1905 with which MacMillan Bloedel had justified his claims. In it, however, all “plots, gardens and grounds” of the Indians were excluded from logging. Moses Martin told the approaching loggers that the island was a tribal park , the garden of his people, and that they were welcome as visitors, but not as loggers.
In the meantime, archaeologists and tree experts had discovered numerous historical sites. Victoria and Ottawa accepted the First Nations demands for the first time and ended deforestation.
In May 2009, 312 people lived in their reservation, another 23 Tla-o-qui-aht in other reservations, 619 outside the reservations - a total of 954 members of the tribe.
Return to tradition
From 2005 the Tla-o-qui-aht began to take a path that differs significantly from that of most of the other tribes. While they, like most First Nations, were negotiating their land rights with the government, opposition to the abandonment of land rights increased. The negotiations stalled. So they wanted to orient their thoughts on the distribution of internal rights and the concept of order, the order of power and the relationship to their natural environment more closely to tradition as long as the elders in the tribe were still alive. The focus was on the idea of reconstructing traditional ideas with the help of oral and written transmission, but also of archaeological sources and films, interviews and comparisons with individual memories.
So in 2005 began a process of restoring the traditional system of government. This should represent a compromise between tradition and modern requirements. However, since the tradition was often unclear and was accordingly called into question, the reconstruction and clarification of the "constitution" ( Huupikwanum ) should be the next goal.
Until then, the band worked according to the portfolio system, i. That is, as in every volume , the elected took responsibility for certain areas such as forest use, fishing, education, contract negotiations, etc. Each council member had to be trained, which resulted in high costs. On the other hand, there were no job descriptions that delimit responsibilities and allocated budgets . In addition, the election was only ever made for two years.
Most clearly, the relationship between the chiefs and their people had changed. The potlatch , which was banned until 1951, was an indispensable part of the traditional system of government. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that the chiefs were able to establish their reputation here. These extensive giveaways thus reinforced the respect and esteem of the Maastchim , the tribesmen, for the Ha'wiih , the traditional chief. The distribution of goods in the potlatches did not take place until 1951, but the chiefs no longer received any goods or gifts to give away. The poor no longer turned to the chiefs for help, but to the Indian agents or the state.
Although the potlatch was re-approved in 1951, the Indian Act in 1958 also formally stripped the hereditary chief of his power. Canada established an electoral chief with a council. The role of Ha'wiih , the traditional hereditary chief, has been marginalized. He and his entire support network were no longer needed.
As a result of the creation of reservations, the Ha'wiih and his Maastchim also lost free access to their Haahuulthii , the originally inalienable tribal area, which was divided in their rights and duties over many people and families, spatially and legally severely divided. In addition, fishing and forest licenses tied access to the Haahuulthii to individuals, thus excluding the rest of the tribe.
The Indian Act also stipulated that each band council (tribal council) had to consist of a chief and a councilor for every 100 tribal members. At least two and a maximum of 12 consultants had to be used. The Tla-o-qui-aht took over this system in 1958. But from the beginning it was feared that the first elected chief, Frank Charlie, would be controlled by the Indian agent . He himself was aware that he did not have the respect of his people, because the families who had previously had a share in power were now without function. So power was in a few hands and few families benefited from it. Since there were also few jobs available, the few government-funded jobs in the tribal office (band office jobs) circulated within the powerful, "new" families. Many viewed these posts as a kind of benefice from the elected chief and adviser families.
The problem was exacerbated by the fact that the Tla-o-qui-aht living outside the reservation were not allowed to vote, which threatened to divide the tribe, and that the tribal members living in the cities were politically incapacitated. Those who remained in the reservation who did not count among the elected families lived in unemployment and great poverty.
Restoration of traditional society
Against this background, the aim was to find a way in eight conferences in 2005 to reconstruct the traditional system of rule as precisely as possible in order to adapt it to today's requirements in a second step. The first way was to interview the Elders , that is, older men and women.
The differences between the current system of government, which is based on European ideas of law and power, and that of traditional society are already evident in the basic terms. The leading chiefs were collectively called Ha'wiih . You are responsible for Haahuulthii , a term that has been translated many times and incorrectly as the traditional area of chiefs. Haahuulthii , however, includes responsibility for certain rivers, animals, food, medicine, songs, masks, names, dances and ceremonies. These responsibilities are passed on through inheritance or marriage. He himself is responsible to the Creator, and it is sometimes even assumed that the Creator gave him over to himself.
The Tla-o-qui-aht were organized into houses and family clans. Everyone who descended from certain lineages (kinship lines) belonged to a certain house. Each house had a head of the house, men and women, who played an important role in the decision-making process. They were known as Elders or Ta'ii aqkin , so they weren't just the elders. House and Maastchim , the individual people of the chief, had access to names, songs, rivers and land that belonged to the Haahuulthi of their Ha'wilth . Therefore, each of these houses fell under the chief's concern, but also had access to his haahuulthii . Each Ha'wilth can "have" several houses of this type, that is, many Ta'ii aqkin . The Ha'wiih thus had a kind of protective mandate for the Haahuulthii of the Tla-o-qui-aht, and the Ta'ii aqkin had access to the Haahuulthii of the Ha'wilth .
A chief's wealth depended on the wealth of his people and his haahuulthii . The Ha'wilth did not do all the work themselves, but instead sent advisors , called iihpiit , who also advised him on these special matters.
Hierarchy
At every type of meeting, the rank was fixed by the seating arrangement according to the principle of seniority for all to hear and see. The seating order of the Ha'wiih is determined by the Seating Master , a kind of master of ceremonies. Violation of this order could be considered disrespectful. Therefore, the seating master had to know the hierarchy very well. Initially, six lineages claimed the title of Ha'wilth among the Tla-o-qui-aht . These are Alex Frank, George Frank, then Ray Seitcher, Howard Tom, Robert Martin and Bruce Frank. However, there are no recognized titles for this lead, because marriages, amalgamations and divisions kept the hierarchy in flux, but also led to uncertainties.
Consensus principle
Where the chief's haahuulthii was directly affected, his decision was irrevocable, and that also applied to his right of veto. In all other areas there was a downright obligation to consult and, above all, the principle of unanimity. The consensus between advisors (and chief) was achieved through alternating speeches until the basic idea could be accepted by everyone. A lot of time could elapse before the decision was made before the “public”, but that did not detract from the process, which is highly regarded.
ideal
The ideal of the chief was very demanding. The future chief was instructed in his duties during pregnancy. In addition, he was given special herbs in the baby bed so that he was physically and mentally strengthened. He should set a good, walking example in the village. He should take care of everyone, not just his family and tribe. Wise and knowing counselors surrounded him. He didn't plan or decide anything on his own. The chief learned a lifetime. A Ha'wilth should still be humble, grateful, and kind to his people. He was recognized because he recognized the complex mutual relationship with his people. So a balanced and respectful life and celebrating with your Maastchim are important foundations to gain respect.
A chief who was disrespectful to traditional teachings, that is, one who led a life without balance that was not venerable, forfeited the right to respect. He could lose his office, as did his son, if he did not lead an appropriate lifestyle so that he could lose his inheritance. The chieftainship then passed to the next older son, or to the son of a brother.
Transition problems
The transition to the traditional model of government under current conditions, it was agreed in 2005, had to be carefully planned. For this purpose, eight meetings with Tla-o-qui-aht historians were scheduled and their knowledge was documented. To do this, the right advisors (iihpiit) had to be named and assembled. In addition, all relevant groups and individuals, such as the chosen chief, his advisors, Ha'wiih and Elders had to be invited. The implementation already took place according to tradition with an opening prayer and a foreword, consensus-based decision, but also the consideration of still unborn generations, as it is said. According to the usual hospitality, all Elders were provided with food.
Clarification of tradition
A chief with a disrespectful lifestyle needed to be removed so as not to deter others. The new chief, mostly his son, could only get the position in his name. The retired chief continued to lead the reins in the background, while the young chief found time to study and build recognized respect.
The Ha'wiih - and house system was seen as ideal for running a nation in which the majority does not live in the Haahuulthii (hardly every third Tla-o-qui-aht lives on the reservation). In this way, the heads of the house regained responsibility for representing and informing all members. In practice, however, the gap between the traditional system and the currently valid one was quite small, since most of the houses elected their representatives to the assembly anyway, and the way they were dealt with remained similar. Based on these basic assumptions, the first meeting took place on April 27, 2005.
The previous assumptions about the hierarchy, the names of the chiefs and "sub-chiefs", an overview of the Ha'wiih and its houses and a map of the Tla-o- qui-aht- Haahuulthii . Marie Martin ("Grandma Precious") opened the meeting with prayers and a speech. Contradictions between the templates brought with them and the common or controversial ranking and the origin of the chiefs were found.
At the third meeting on May 30, 2005, the responsibilities of the Ha'wiih were determined and the process of dismissal or reinstatement was specified. In addition, it was found that the Tiikawiilth , which resembled a parliamentary cabinet , was completely absent . The fishery supervision was with the so-called Tsatsook . They supervise the courses of the river and close them when necessary, for example when the fish spawn. Above all, they determined the number of fish that could be caught. It became clear that some Tiikawiilth were mistakenly considered Ha'wiih .
Problems raised the question of how to deal with extinct lines of chiefdom. It became clear that the disappearance of a language leads to serious misunderstandings, if, as in the case of the Tla-o-qui-aht, Nuu-chah-nulth terms are translated into English: It was shown that some "sub- Chief “was more of a Tiikawilth , a supporter of Ha'wiih , but the title doesn't exist in English. Tiikawilth refers to the seat in a long house. He had responsibility to the Ha'wiih and was occasionally honored for his help at major ceremonies. Such was the Ha'wiih Robert Martin, whose family was one of those supporters, equipped with a claim to a place of honor. In the absence of any other term, many wrongly referred to him as "Chief".
The question of how dignity is conferred was also controversial. The chieftaincy of the Moochink was the trigger in that he had asked Chester Brown to take over his dignity after his death, but he refused, as did Alex Frank. It consequently remained unclear who should inherit the title, so the Elders looked for criteria. In order to pass the title on, the Ha'wiih had to consult with the Advisors , but not speak to his family, who were only kept up to date through his Taapaatsii (advisors). The Taapaatsii assisted in the selection of the successor within the chief's house in order to avoid disputes between the chief and his house.
An unsuitable chief could be removed from office for a while, but retained his title while a suitable candidate held his office.
In deliberation on June 2nd. Further problems emerged: 7 to 9 years ago the Ha'wiih had accepted gifts from Moochink and the Robert Martin family at a potlatch . At the time, this led to the misunderstanding that acceptance of such a gift recognized the rank. This process is symptomatic of a society in which symbolic actions are extremely important.
On the basis of this agreement, the meetings on June 13th and July 7th came to the conclusion that the regulation of internal relations was also important for the treaty negotiations with Canada and generally for the external relations of the Tla-o-qui-aht. For this reason, family trees were drawn up, lines of descent were precisely clarified and written sources were used (especially from the volume Office ), the interpretation of which was left to the historians.
Nevertheless, on July 14th, the question of who Haa'wiih was still couldn't be answered . The remaining unclear cases should be loaded to give them an opportunity to explain what their status is based on.
Nevertheless, the tools of inner domination could be determined. Chief names and regalia were paramount in passing dignity and respect to the next Ha'wiih . Counselors and households were involved in the decision-making process to ensure the best decisions and to maintain respect. It was also recommended that Ha'wiih use their speakers only at celebrations and only for good news. The advisors, speakers, strong names, tiikawiilth and heads or heads of households were found to be indispensable components of the system of government . In addition, it has now been established that oral traditions and written sources no longer contradict the thoughts of the Elders .
August 22nd. the congregation found that Robert Martin's chiefhood remained unclear because he had not appeared. Conflicts came to light because the right to occupy a particular area ran counter to the concept of haahuulthii . For example, some families had landed land (ma'uas) for building their family houses, but these families now claimed the Haahuulthii . For clarification, older recordings should be viewed and heard that were in the archives of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and in the libraries of the Elders Nelly Joseph and Marie Martin. In order to avoid misunderstandings and ambiguities, case files and the materials for preparing the negotiations with the government should also be consulted. They should be obtained through the Nuu-chah-nulth Council .
After these eight sessions, the following resolutions and recommendations were made: On the one hand, all information, recordings, transcripts and tapes from the Department of Indian Affairs , the archives, including Ottawa , the transcripts of the Meares Island Court Case (trial files, the in the dispute over Meares Island ), audio recordings of various elders (from personal holdings), plus the Maht Mahs lying at the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council , video recordings of the Nuu-chah-nulth-Hawiih-Haahuulthii presentation during the opening of the Contract negotiations with Canada. These tapes should be made available on DVD .
After that, all results should be presented at meetings of the Elders and all Ha'wiih . Only then should the next step be considered. Otherwise, Ha'wiih and appropriate Iihpiit should come to an agreement . This step, the presentation and discussion, including all guidelines that led to the decision, was the prerequisite for finally informing all tribal members of the decisions.
The next step was to identify the chiefs speaking-masters and the Tiikawiilth . Specially designated beachkeepers should improve the water and coastal supervision and, if necessary, receive guests. Seating masters should be determined and trained in order to avoid disputes of rank in the future, so that the chief's helpers should be honored and properly placed. Then all houses should be identified and correctly assigned to the respective Ha'ilth . To this end, their heads of household should be elected, who in turn speak for their houses. Training and instruction in these matters was provided by the Elders . Finally, a careful examination of the tools available should be carried out in order to ensure a venerable and reliable administration of the Ha'wiih , as well as the possible removal and reinstatement of a chief. In order to be sure that there will be no misunderstandings regarding the dignity of the chief, Ha'wiih names should only be used by Ha'wiihs .
Regular structures and processes should serve as a means of transferring regular rule to the maastchim . Finally, the meeting should be continued for continuity.
With this project, one of the largest groups of the Nuu-chah-nulth is returning to a central element of their tradition, shortly before the oral tradition was extinguished.
Success in conserving natural resources
In March 2007 the Tla-o-qui-aht were able to enforce that a 10,000-acre population (approx. 40 km²) of old rainforest in the upper Kennedy Valley would be protected for another five years. In 2014, Moses Martin called for a moratorium on the exploitation of natural resources by Vancouver- based Imperial Metals at the Fandora site in the Tranquil Valley in Clayoquot Sound. This area is located within the traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht, which forces the provincial government to exercise its say.
In November 2009, the Tla-o-qui-aht, together with Ahousaht , Ehatteshaht , Mowachaht / Muchalaht and Hesquiaht, filed for admission to commercial fishing ( Ahousaht Indian Band And Nation v. Canada Attorney General, 2009 BCSC 1494 ).
Sorry after 214 years
William Twombley, one of the descendants of the captain Robert Gray , who not only was the first US-American to circumnavigate the world, but who also had Opitsat burned down in 1791, came to the Tla-o-qui in mid-July 2005 with a replica of the ship of that time -seam. From the ship he read out a detailed apology for the kidnapping and murder of Chief Wickaninnish's older brother and for the destruction of Opitsat.
Chieftain-elect Barney Williams Jr. accepted the apology on behalf of his tribe and welcomed Twombley.
literature
- FW Howay (ed.): Voyages of the "Columbia" to the Northwest Coast 1787-1790 and 1790-1793 , Portland: Oregon Historical Society 1990, v. a. 247f., 304, 381f., 390f.
- British Columbia and the HawiiH of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations . Interim Measures Agreement, between Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of British Columbia ("British Columbia") and the HawiiH of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, the Ahousaht First Nation, the Hesquiaht First Nation, the Toquaht First Nation and the Ucluelet First Nation (the “First Nations”), Ahousaht 1994
See also
Web links
- Melinda Jette to a painting by the painter George Davidson v. around 1793
- Barry Gough, Possessing Meares Island
Remarks
- ↑ Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , Tla-o-qui-aht ( Memento of the original from March 4, 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.
- ↑ Richard J. Nokes: Columbia's River: The Voyages of Robert Gray, 1787–1793 , Tacoma, Washington 1991, see also American Fur Traders on the Northwest Coast of North America , since 2002 ( Memento of the original from August 24, 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. .
- ↑ In 1915 Curtis also visited the Tla-o-qui-aht and took photos a. a. a girl, digital: [1] .
- ^ British Columbia Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry, Action No. C8459340, 1984
- ↑ to: Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations ( Memento of the original from March 4, 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.
- ↑ These were Ray Sietcher, Howard Tom, Reginald, David, Ernest David, Marie (Precious) Martin, Tom Curley, Archie Thompson, John Tom, Joe Curley, Barney Williams Jr., Jasper Frank, Randal Frank, Ben David, Stanley Sam , Dixon Sam, Bruce Frank, Nelly Joseph and Alfred Tom. In addition there was the elected chief Barney Williams Jr.
- ↑ Ahousaht Indian Band And Nation v. Canada Attorney General, 2009 BCSC 1494 , Indigenous Peoples. Issues and Resources, November 13, 2009 .
