|
Gitksan ("people of the Skeena") live along the Skeena River of northwestern BC in 6 villages: Hazelton, Kispiox and Glen Vowell (the Eastern Gitksan bands) and Kitwanga, Kitwankool and Kitsegukla (the Western Gitksans). Their registered population for 1996 was 6222.
Language
Their language, forms of Nass-Gitksan, is related within the TSIMSHIAN language family to Coast Tsimshian and probably also to the Penutian tongues of California and Oregon. A matrilineal people, Gitksans are born into one of 4 lineages or phratries (to which their mate, when they marry, may not belong). Contemporary Gitksan life is still centered around the obligations and privileges of the li'ligit, community POTLATCH feasts at which funerals, marriages, namings, adoptions and other ceremonies involving a change in identity are announced and guests are given gifts for witnessing. The Gitksan language is being replaced in use by English, although community schools teach Gitksan.
Culture
Gitksans no longer burn the bodies of their dead, a cultural trait which they shared with their Carrier (Wet'suwet'en) neighbours but not with related Tsimshian or Nishga (Nisga'a) groups. They are noted for their traditional art, which ranges from the complex Chilkat blankets and intricately wrought mountain-sheep horn spoons to the totem poles which the heirs of chiefs were obligated to raise as memorials. Traditional crafts are encouraged by programs of Ksan (the reconstructed Gitksan village which serves as a cultural centre), and by the band councils and band-operated schools.
Social and Political Organization
The Gitksan-Wet'suwet'en (previously Gitksan-Carrier) Tribal Council co-ordinates social programs and is engaged in land claims litigation. In the historic court case Delgamuukw et al v The Queen (8 March 1991), the hereditary chiefs of the 2 tribes claimed aboriginal rights to 22 000 sq mi of their traditional territories in northwestern BC, an area approximately the size of New Brunswick. The judgement by BC Supreme Court Justice A. MacEachern stated that the Gitksan/Wet'suwet'en have neither sovereignty, jurisdiction nor aboriginal title, such rights having ceased to exist during the colonial period because colonial legislation exhibited a clear and plain intention to extinguish them, even though these laws did not do so expressly, nor did they even mention aboriginal rights. The judgement did find that the Gitksan were entitled to use unoccupied crown land in their claimed territory for aboriginal subsistence activities. A Supreme Court of Canada judgement (11 Dec 1997) found that no blanket extinguishing of ABORIGINAL RIGHTS pre- or postcontact had occurred (see DELGAMUUKW CASE). The Tribal Council continues to document and foster Gitksan traditions.
Author
J.V. POWELL and VICKIE D. JENSEN
Links to Other Sites
Gitxsan culture and heritage
This illustrated website profiles the culture and history of Gitxsan people in northwest British Columbia. Developed by the 'Ksan Historical Village and Museum
Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
The website for the "Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples." Click on the links for feature articles about Canada's many multicultural communities, access to their extensive digital archives collection, learning modules, and much more. From "Multicultural Canada."
Languages of Canada
A comprehensive online database of languages currently in use in Canada. Also provides details about extinct languages. Check out the "language maps" for more information. Based on "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition." From SIL International, a US website.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| David Thompson was an outsider, struggling to find a foothold in the empire that had consumed his country... |
|
| Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Evangelical Christian Church, often called the Christian Church (Christian Disciples), is a denomination stemming from ... |
|
|
| The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ... |
|
|
| Sears Canada Inc, headquartered in Toronto, is a Canadian retailer incorporated in 1952. In 1953 operating under the ... |
|
|
| John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ... |
|
|
| Land claims are dealt with by a process established by the federal government to enable INDIANS, INUIT and ... |
|
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
| THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA |
|
| Andrew (Logan) Tunis. Pianist, accompanist, teacher, b Fredericton 30 Apr 1956, B MUS (University of Ottawa) 1978, M MUS (Manhattan School of Music) 1980. His early training was in St Catharines, Ont, and at the McGill ... |
|
|