{{short description, Indigenous people of British Columbia/Alaska The Gispwudwada or Gisbutwada (variously spelled) is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" (

phratry In ancient Greece, a phratry ( grc, φρᾱτρῐ́ᾱ, phrātríā, brotherhood, kinfolk, derived from grc, φρᾱ́τηρ, phrā́tēr, brother, links=no) was a group containing citizens in some city-states. Their existence is known in most I ...

) in the

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

of the

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terr ...

nation of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, and southeast

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. It is considered analogous or identical to the Gisgahaast (variously spelled; also Gisk'aast) clan in British Columbia's

Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English (: means "people of" and : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory encompasses approxim ...

nation and the Gisḵ'ahaast/Gisḵ'aast Tribe of the Nisg̱a'a. The Nisg̱a'a also call this group the Killerwhale Tribe, though the Gitxsan use the term Fireweed clan; ''Gisgahaast'' means literally "people of the

fireweed ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. In ...

." The name ''Gispwudwada'' is of unknown etymology. The chief crests of the Gispwudwada are the Killerwhale (a.k.a.

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...

) (neexł'' in Tsimshian) and

Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

(''midiik''). Tsimshian matrilineal houses belonging to the Gispwudwada tend to belong to one of two groups, the Git'mlaxam and the Gitnagwinaks.

Git'mlaxam

The Git'mlaxam trace their origins to the legendary Temlaxam (a.k.a. Temlaham, Dimlahamid, etc.) or "Prairie Town" on the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...

in what is now Gitksan territory. The Git'mlaxam can be further subdivided. Git'mlaxam house-groups among the Tsimshian include the royal House of Ts'ibasaa in the Gitkxaała (

Kitkatla The Kitkatla or Gitxaala are one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian nation of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and inhabit a village, also called Kitkatla (sometimes called Laxklan), on Dolphin Island, a small island just by Porcher Isla ...

) tribe.

Gitnagwinaks

The Gitnagwinaks (sometimes spelled Nagunaks) trace their migrations southward, to the vicinity of the

Kitasoo The Kitasoo are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian people in Canada, who inhabit, along with Xai'xais people of Heiltsuk ethnic affiliation, the village of Klemtu, British Columbia. The name ''Kitasoo'' derives from the Tsimshian name ''Gidests ...

Tsimshians at

Klemtu Klemtu is an unincorporated community on Swindle Island in the coastal fjords of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Kitasoo Indian Reserve No. 1. Klemtu is the home of the Kitasoo tribe of Tsimshians, originally from Kitasu Bay, and th ...

, British Columbia. In a discussion of the

Bear Mother Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

myth, the anthropologist

Marius Barbeau Charles Marius Barbeau, (March 5, 1883 – February 27, 1969), 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. A ...

in 1950 published information recorded by the Tsimshian ethnologist

William Beynon William Beynon (1888–1958) was a Canadian hereditary chief of the Tsimshian Nation and an oral historian; he served as ethnographer, translator, and linguistic consultant to many anthropologists who studied his people. Early life and education ...

from his fellow

Gitlaan The Gitlan are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian Nation in British Columbia, Canada, and referred to as one of the 'nine tribes of the lower Skeena River. The name ''Gitlan'' means "people of the Stern Canoe." Their traditional territory incl ...

Tsimshian E. Maxwell which describes a dispute among the Kitasoo Gispwudwada house-heads Wuts'iint, Dzagmsagisk, and T'amks as to ownership of certain crest privileges, resulting in migration to

Gitwilgyoots The Gitwilgyoots 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 ...

, and

tribes of Tsimshians. The following Gitnagwinaks crests are listed: *Grizzly Bear of the Sea (''midiigm ts'm 'aks'') *Double-Finned Killerwhale (''wüsngoopskinm née'x 'neexł'') *Killerwhale with Fins All Around (''txatkunee'xs'') *Ligidadools, wife of the monster chief of the Nagwinaks

Nisg̱a'a - Gisḵ'ahaast (People among the Fireweed)

*House of Ẁii Seeks - Ivan Mercer **Ts'iibaasaa is a name from this house used all over the coast of bc. **Belongs to Nass river family of W'ii Seeks, Ts'iibaasaa Is held by Steven Bright *House of W̓isin Xbiĺtkw - Matthew Moore (Previously Andrew Mercer) **The late Ẁii Lisims (

Frank Calder Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete. Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...

) was from this house. *House of Daax̱an - (previously Perry Azak) *House of Ni'isýuus - Willard Martin *House of W̓ii Lax̱ha - Peter Stevens (Previously James Stevens, Sim’oogit Ḵ’amksiiwaa) *Most common crests of Nass River Gisk'ahaast are: **Hlguwilksihlgum N̓eekhl (Prince Killer Whale), **Midiigim Tsa’W̓ii Aks (Grizzly Bear of The Big Water) used only by the royal T’imlaxaam Houses, **k'utk'unukws (Owl), **Psday̓ (Grouse), **Haḵ (Goose), **Hloks (Sun), **Hloksim Axkw (Moon), **Bil̓ist (Star), **Max̱maḵ’ay (Rainbow) ''The Nisga'a no longer rank their chieftains as "head chief" of a tribe.''

Bibliography

*Barbeau, Marius (1928) ''The Downfall of Temlaham.'' Toronto: MacMillan. *Barbeau, Marius (1929) ''

Totem Poles Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually m ...

of the Gitksan, Upper Skeena River, British Columbia.'' (Anthropological Series 12, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 61.) Ottawa: Canada, Department of Mines. *Barbeau, Marius (1950) ''Totem Poles.'' (2 vols.) (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. Reprinted, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec, 1990. * Glavin, Terry (1990) ''A Death Feast in Dimlahamid.'' Vancouver: New Star Books * Harris, Kenneth B., and Frances M. P. Robinson (1974) ''Visitors Who Never Left: The Origin of the People of Damelahamid.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press *Robinson, Will (1962) ''Men of Medeek.'' As told by Walter Wright. Kitimat, British Columbia: Northern Sentinel Press. *Council of Elders, Ayuuḵhl Nisg̱a'a Department & Nisg̱a'a Lisims Government (2008) ''Anhluut'ukwsim Saẁinskhl Nisg̱a'a: Nisg̱a'a Feast Procedures & Protocols'' Gitlax̱t'aamiks, British Columbia Tsimshian Gitxsan Nisga'a Clans and Houses of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast