Gispaxlo'ots
Encyclopedia
The Gispaxlo'ots are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian
nation in British Columbia
, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River
resident at Lax Kw'alaams
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. The name Gispaxlo'ots means literally "people of the place of elderberries." Their traditional territory includes an area on the Skeena River between Terrace
and Prince Rupert. Since 1834, they have been based at Lax Kw'alaams, when a Hudson's Bay Company
fort was established there. Traditionally, the Gispaxlo'ots have been the most powerful of the Tsimshian tribes, due to the exploits and wealth of their great trading chief, Ligeex
. Lax Kw'alaams also sits on Gispaxlo'ots territory.
In addition to its leading, royal house, the House of Ligeex, which belongs to the Laxsgiik
(Eagle clan), other house-groups (extended matrilineal families) of the Gispaxlo'ots include:
In 1935 William Beynon
recorded that Gispaxlo'ots people in Lax Kw'alaams included 18 members of the Gispwudwada
(Killerwhale clan) (2 house-groups), 24 members of the Ganhada
(Raven) (1 house-group), and 63 members of the Laxsgiik
(Eagle) (6 house-groups).
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...
nation in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River
Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada . The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan - whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the...
resident at Lax Kw'alaams
Lax Kw'alaams
Lax-Kw'alaams , usually called Port Simpson, is an Indigenous village community in British Columbia, Canada, not far from the city of Prince Rupert. It is the home of the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River, which are nine of the fourteen tribes of the Tsimshian nation...
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. The name Gispaxlo'ots means literally "people of the place of elderberries." Their traditional territory includes an area on the Skeena River between Terrace
Terrace, British Columbia
Terrace is a city on the Skeena River in British Columbia, Canada. The Kitselas people, a tribe of the Tsimshian Nation, have lived in the Terrace area for thousands of years. The community population fell between 2001 and 2006 from 12,109 with a regional population of 19,980 to 11,320 and...
and Prince Rupert. Since 1834, they have been based at Lax Kw'alaams, when a Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
fort was established there. Traditionally, the Gispaxlo'ots have been the most powerful of the Tsimshian tribes, due to the exploits and wealth of their great trading chief, Ligeex
Ligeex
Ligeex is an hereditary name-title belonging to the Gispaxlo'ots tribe of the Tsimshian First Nation from the village of Lax Kw'alaams , British Columbia, Canada. The name, and the chieftainship it represents, is passed along matrilineally within the royal house called the House of Ligeex...
. Lax Kw'alaams also sits on Gispaxlo'ots territory.
In addition to its leading, royal house, the House of Ligeex, which belongs to the Laxsgiik
Laxsgiik
The Laxsgiik is the name for the Eagle "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska...
(Eagle clan), other house-groups (extended matrilineal families) of the Gispaxlo'ots include:
- House of Spooxs -- LaxsgiikLaxsgiikThe Laxsgiik is the name for the Eagle "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska...
(Eagle clan) (this house has members associated today with the KitsumkalumKitsumkalumKitsumkalum is one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and is also the name of their Indian Reserve just west of the city of Terrace, British Columbia, where the Kitsumkalum River flows into the Skeena River...
community) - House of Suhalaayt -- GispwudwadaGispwudwadaThe Gispwudwada is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the Gisgahaast clan in British Columbia's Gitksan nation and the Gisk'ahaast/Gisk'aast Tribe of the Nisga'a...
(Killerwhale clan) (a totem poleTotem poleTotem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
belonging to this house was standing in Lax Kw'alaams as recently as the 1930s) - House of T'amks -- GispwudwadaGispwudwadaThe Gispwudwada is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the Gisgahaast clan in British Columbia's Gitksan nation and the Gisk'ahaast/Gisk'aast Tribe of the Nisga'a...
(headed by Arthur Wellington ClahArthur Wellington ClahArthur Wellington Clah was a Canadian First Nations employee of the Hudson's Bay Company at Lax Kw'alaams , B.C., who was also a hereditary chief in the Tsimshian nation, an anthropological informant, and an extensive diarist....
until his death, 1916) - House of 'Wiigyet -- Gispwudada (Killerwhale clan)
In 1935 William Beynon
William Beynon
William Beynon was a hereditary chief from the Tsimshian nation and an oral historian who served as ethnographer, translator, and linguistic consultant to many anthropologists....
recorded that Gispaxlo'ots people in Lax Kw'alaams included 18 members of the Gispwudwada
Gispwudwada
The Gispwudwada is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the Gisgahaast clan in British Columbia's Gitksan nation and the Gisk'ahaast/Gisk'aast Tribe of the Nisga'a...
(Killerwhale clan) (2 house-groups), 24 members of the Ganhada
Ganhada
The Ganhada is the name for the Raven "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the Ganada Tribe of the Nisga'a nation in British Columbia and the Frog clan among B.C.'s Gitxsan nation...
(Raven) (1 house-group), and 63 members of the Laxsgiik
Laxsgiik
The Laxsgiik is the name for the Eagle "clan" in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska...
(Eagle) (6 house-groups).
Prominent Gispaxlo'ots people
- Paul LegaicLigeexLigeex is an hereditary name-title belonging to the Gispaxlo'ots tribe of the Tsimshian First Nation from the village of Lax Kw'alaams , British Columbia, Canada. The name, and the chieftainship it represents, is passed along matrilineally within the royal house called the House of Ligeex...
, hereditary chief and trader - Rev. William Henry PierceWilliam Henry PierceWilliam Henry Pierce , also known as W. H. Pierce, was a Canadian First Nations missionary for the Methodist church and a member of the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia. He is best known for his memoir, From Potlatch to Pulpit, which was the first published book by a...
, missionary and memoirist - Henry W. TateHenry W. TateHenry Wellington Tate was an oral historian from the Tsimshian First Nation in British Columbia, Canada, best known for his work with the anthropologist Franz Boas....
, oral historian - Arthur Wellington ClahArthur Wellington ClahArthur Wellington Clah was a Canadian First Nations employee of the Hudson's Bay Company at Lax Kw'alaams , B.C., who was also a hereditary chief in the Tsimshian nation, an anthropological informant, and an extensive diarist....
, hereditary chief and diarist
Sources
- Barbeau, MariusMarius BarbeauCharles Marius Barbeau, , also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology...
(1950) Totem Poles. 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada.
- Garfield, Viola E.Viola GarfieldViola E. Garfield was an American anthropologist best known for her work on the social organization and plastic arts of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia and Alaska.-Early life:...
(1939) "Tsimshian Clan and Society." University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 167-340.
- McDonald, James A. (2003) People of the Robin: The Tsimshian of Kitsumkalum. CCI Press.