Kitselas , Kitsalas or Gits'ilaasü are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia , in northwestern Canada . The original name Gits'ilaasü means "people of the canyon." The tribe is situated at Kitselas, British Columbia , at the upper end of Kitselas Canyon , which is on the Skeena River . It was once a great trading nexus, just outside and upriver from the city of Terrace . It is the most upriver of the 14 tribes and it borders the territory of the Gitxsan nation.
8-573: Today, the Kitselas people live mostly at two Indian reserves; one, at the Kulspai or Queensway reserve ("New Town"), is just across the river from Terrace. More recently, Kitselas people have begun to repopulate a more traditional and remote site on a bluff overlooking the Canyon, at Gitaus reserve ( Git'aws meaning "people of the sand"). Gitaus is gradually becoming the centre of Kitselas life. From
16-669: The Kitselas First Nation . William Beynon and the anthropologist Marius Barbeau recorded traditional information from Kitselas people at Port Essington, B.C. , in 1924, including Chief Walter Wright and Chief Samuel Wise, who held the Kitselas Laxsgiik (Eagle-clan) name Gitxon. Following are the house-groups (matrilineal extended families) of the Kitselas: Detailed narratives were also recorded from Chief Walter Wright (Niistaxo'ok) in
24-741: The Skeena River . Archaeological evidence places Kitsumkalum with property holdings (laxyuup/territories) in the Kitsumkalum Valley, down the Skeena River to the coast, the Zymagotitz River , areas around Lakelse Lake and many special sites surrounding coastal and inland areas of the North West Coast prior to 1846 and as far back as 5,000 years BP. The name Kitsumkalum, originally Gitsmgeelm, derives from
32-530: The 1870s until the 1960s, many Kitselas and Kitsumkalum Tsimshians lived at the cannery town of Port Essington , farther down the Skeena River (now a ghost town), at the confluence of the Ecstall and Skeena rivers. Until its dissolution in 2005, the Tsimshian Tribal Council represented Kitselas in treaty negotiations with the provincial and federal governments. Its band government is
40-673: The 1930s and collected in a volume called Men of Medeek. Kitsumkalum Kitsumkalum is an original tribe/ galts'ap (community) of the Tsimshian Nation. Kitsumkalum is one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia , Canada. Kitsumkalum and is also the name of one of their Indian Reserve just west of the city of Terrace, British Columbia , where the Kitsumkalum River flows into
48-722: The Tsimshian git- (people of) and -geelm, referring to riffles formed by shallow water running over rocks in the Kitsumkalum River. The following house-groups (extended matrilineal families) make up the Kitsumkalum tribe, according to McDonald (see bibliography): Of these, the House of Nisgeel represents the first human inhabitants of the Kitsumkalum valley, under the leadership of Nisgeel, according to an oral history ( adawx ) belonging to this house. Traditionally,
56-420: The community in 1983 was 74. McDonald also lists the following house-groups from other Tsimshian tribes whose members are associated with the Kitsumkalum community: From the 1870s until the 1960s, many Kitsumkalum and Kitselas Tsimshians lived at the cannery town of Port Essington , farther down the Skeena River (now a ghost town), at the confluence of the Ecstall and Skeena Rivers. A significant event in
64-573: The main Kitsumkalum village was situated at Dałk Gyilakyaw or "Robin Town," at the Canyon of the Kitsumkalum River. This site has not been occupied since the 1930s. Another village, home of the Ganhada and Laxgibuu, was Gitxondakł, situated between the Canyon and Kalum Lake. Modern Kitsumkalum village, a third site, is right on Highway 16 where the Kitsumkalum River flows into the Skeena. The population of
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