Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They live on ten reserves
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
along the Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, 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...
. They are part of the Nootka Confederacy and governed by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island.- History :...
. There were 618 people living in the Tla-o-qui-aht reserves in 1995. Their primary economic activities are fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet,...
is located on the western coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, north of Tofino
Tofino, British Columbia
Tofino is a district of about 1,650 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada, located at the western terminus of Highway 4, on the tip of the Esowista Peninsula, at the southern edge of Clayoquot Sound....
.
Introduction
Tla-o-qui-aht, whose Ancestral border is determined by the 'height of land, the direction of the rivers flow and as far as the eye can see on the ocean, is a confederacy of aboriginal groups who historically were independent from one another. Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations is the ‘Indian Band’ mandated under the Federal Indian Act to deliver civil and human services to Tla-o-qui-aht. The hereditary governance systems and structures of Tla-o-qui-aht that exist today, and that have existed since time immemorialTime immemorial
Time immemorial is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition, indefinitely ancient, "ancient beyond memory or record"...
have a dynamic relationship with the Indian Band administration and with the general population of Tla-o-qui-aht.
The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation resides on two separate reserves, one on Meares Island (Opitsaht) and the other at Esowista, surrounded by Pacific Rim National Park. A reserve expansion is planned for the Esowista site. The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN) has been very active in economic development.
The keystone to understanding Tla-o-qui-aht history is understanding what the term Tla-o-qui-aht means. The following translation/interpretation was developed based on conversations with various Tla-o-qui-aht elders (including Mary Hayes and Dixon Sam Mitt, among others), fluent speakers, master craftsmen, seasoned politicians and those who participated in the exhaustive community consultation that was implemented by Tla-o-qui-aht during the Meares Island court case.
Tla-o-qui-aht is the confederation of historic native groups that once lived all around the lake system called Ha-ooke-min. Tla-o-qui-aht has been translated to mean “different people.” However, it means much more than that. To begin with, aht means 'from or of', and tla-o-qui is a place in Clayoquot Sound presently known as Clayoqua. In this way Tla-o-qui-aht can be understood to mean the “people from Clayoqua.”
This understanding of Tla-o-qui-aht speaks of the history of our people dating back to the early to mid-17th century. As mentioned, in former times, our ancestors were in fact not one tribe, but many small tribes and family groups who lived all around Ha-ooke-min, which is now known as Kennedy Lake and which is where Tla-o-qui is located.
The defining event that changed the face of Tla-o-qui-aht forever is eternalized in the name of the Esowista Peninsula. The war of Esowista was a Great War that Tla-o-qui-aht engaged in as a single force. The people who once lived on the peninsula from Long Beach to Tofino and further north had kept tight control of ocean resources and had made it a common practice to raid the sleepy fishing villages of Ha-ooke-min to take slaves and other commodities. In our language Esowista means “clubbed to death.”
Tla-o-qui-aht maintained their presence in this part of the Sound through to first contact with Europeans in the late 18th century. In summary, Tla-o-qui-aht, different people, are the people from Tla-o-qui; they are a confederation of many different smaller groups who once lived a very different lifestyle at Ha-ooke-min.
Hereditary system
The following overview of the Tla-o-qui-aht hereditary system is not designed to be an official statement on our future self-government structure. I will provide a summary of the main features of the historical socio-political system of Tla-o-qui-aht; a summary of changes in that system since contact with Europeans and; a statement of current developments under way with a focus on current sensitivities that the outside participant should be mindful of when approaching Tla-o-qui-aht in relationship building.The main features of the Tla-o-qui-aht historical socio-political system include:The ‘fish and fuse’ annual cycle, and Hereditary structure and social mobility.The fish-and-fuse annual cycle characterizes the historical Tla-o-qui-aht hereditary socio-political system as akin to a watershed management system. Generally, in the spring, summer and fall months the community would be spread, like fish, throughout the territory to gather stores of resources and to prepare clothing and other wares. During the winter the fusion would happen with wedding ceremonies, coming of age ceremonies and other significant social-political events that would reshape the political landscape for the following gathering seasons. Sometimes these shifts would result in the reallocation of watershed management rites.
The socio-political structures that continued on down through the generations were both fixed and fluid. The main feature of these structures is what is called ‘houses’. Houses are social sub-groups based on familial ties. The hereditary structures evolved and devolved through the annual fish-and-fuse cycles and through larger epochs marked by the cycles of the passing on of chieftainships from elder generations to successors. The evolutions and devolutions were also driven by depopulations and increases in population through annexation of other local groups. Throughout these cycles of change, it was possible for limited social mobility and for individuals to increase or decrease in rank based on resourcefulness, marriages, wars etc.
The Tla-o-qui-aht hereditary system was a complex form of self-government that integrated a distinct worldview characterized by a deep understanding of ancestry and manifest evolution. A combination of massive depopulation and the institutionalization of Tla-o-qui-aht children in residential schools had a significant impact on Tla-o-qui-aht hereditary system. During the depopulation, many of the house structures of Tla-o-qui-aht’s hereditary system became obsolete and therefore the number of houses also became less numerous. Residential schools systematically removed the language and deconstructed Tla-o-qui-aht families which were the basic building blocks of Tla-o-qui-aht society.
Today Tla-o-qui-aht is in the process of rebuilding through a combination of restoring functions and adapting to the modern political landscape in British Columbia. The Hereditary Chiefs who are leading Tla-o-qui-aht through this process are:
- Howard Tom
- Alex Frank (Siayasim) – speaker, Reg David.
- Robert Martin
- Bruce Frank
- Ray Seitcher and George Frank (who share the Tyeeh seat)
There is currently a standing agreement that decisions regarding resource use are done through consensus of the six Hereditary Chiefs.
Families and the hereditary system
The following list of Tla-o-qui-aht family names is not an exclusive nor exhaustive list. It includes the root family names that most, if not all, current names can be linked to:- Manson
- Martin
- Frank
- Tom
- Charlie
- Williams
- David
- Curley-frank
- Seitcher
- Hayes
- Joseph
- Browns
- Jackson
- Georges
- Jim