Tsawataineuk

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The Tsawataineuk or Tsawataineuk Nation calls themselves Dzawada'enuxw (a name derived from birdsong), but is still occasionally called Kingcome Inlet after where they live . She is one of the First Nations in western Canada. They live in the province of British Columbia , more precisely across from Port Hardy (on Vancouver Island ) on the east side of Johnstone Strait . Their language, Kwak'wala, is one of the Wakash languages .

The Tsawataineuk belong to the northern Kwakwaka'wakw and together with two other tribes, the Kwicksutaineuk and the Namgis, form the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council .

history

As with many of the First Nations on the west coast of Canada, the myths reflect memories of a Great Flood. The ancestor of the tribe is considered to be Kawadilikala, who came out of the mountains with his brother Kwalili before the flood. They were wolves before. However, Kwalili moved on and became the ancestor of the Haxwa'mis on Wakeman Sound.

Around 1850 they lived in the neighborhood of the Nakwoktak, the Hamuamis, the Tsawtainuk, the Kwiksoutainook. Opposite them, on Vancouver Island, settled the Kwakiutl and other Kwak'wala-speaking tribes. They lived in long houses, the gigukwdzi. These were displaced by European houses from around 1900.

Reservations

Since 1916 they have lived mainly in the Indian reservation Quaee 7 (174.7 ha). It is located on the Kingcome River about 3 km above the mouth of the inlet of the same name. Charles Creek 2 is also on Kingcome Inlet, on the left side of the Charles River. On the south bank of the inlet, on the east bank of Belle Isle Sound, is Bat-l-ki 3 (4.9 ha), then Kawages 4 (3.4 ha) on the north side of Simoon Island. Finally, Kukwapa 5 (32.8 ha), which consists of Fly Island, an island in Fife Sound, northeast of Eden Island.

Of the 534 tribesmen, 77 lived in their own reservation in October 2014, 71 in another, plus 386 members who lived outside of reservations.

Current situation

The food supply, which until a few decades ago came directly from the surrounding area, is no longer possible due to algae migration, but above all because of the damage from fish farms and factories. In 2003 there were around 30 fish farms on the Broughton Archipelago alone. Nowhere in western Canada is the concentration of fish farms as great as here. In 2002 the salmon populations (especially the pink salmon) collapsed, and since then there have been no more salmon migrations, which in turn starves the bear population and has further ecological consequences. Especially Heritage Salmon Limited and Stolt Sea Farm Inc. stand out here. The latter is an offshoot of a former Norwegian, now Luxembourg company. In 2000 it was estimated to be 3.6 million salmon, two years later there were barely 150,000 - Pink Salmons only move here every two years.

In 2003, the Indians turned to the British Columbia Supreme Court with the help of the Sierra Legal Defense Fund . To do this, they teamed up with the Gwawaenuk , Namgis and Kwicksutaineuk bands, which are also affected.

Against the background of these and other experiences, these three tribes have refused to participate in the state Central Coast Land and Resource Management Plan since 2005 , among them the Gwawaenuk.

In August 2003 a new gigukwdzi, a large house, was inaugurated. Today it is used for events such as potlatches and the teaching of song and dance.

See also

literature

  • Donald Leland, Donald H. Mitchell: Some Correlates of Local Group Rank among the Southern Kwakiutl. In: Ethnology , 14/4, 1975, pp. 325-334

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Map of the tribal areas around 1850 firstnations.de
  2. ↑ According to the information from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development , First Nation Profiles: fnp-ppn.aandc-aadnc.gc.ca .
  3. ↑ Map of the fish farms firstnations.de
  4. ↑ The latter make certain efforts to implement stricter environmental requirements. In 2004 the company was certified according to ISO 14001 (2004) for environmental management. The former have apparently not got beyond general statements on environmental compatibility.
  5. ↑ Article. In: New York Times , September 14, 2003
  6. ↑ Declaration from November 1, 2005 ( Memento of the original from December 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ubcic.bc.ca @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ubcic.bc.ca