The Gitando are the youngest (or last to form) of the 14 tribes 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 ...

people in

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. It is one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" First Nation of the lower

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 ...

resident at ''

Lax Kw'alaams Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

'' (a.k.a. Port Simpson), British Columbia. The name ''Gitando'' means the people of

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s. Their traditional territory includes the watershed of the Exstew River, a tributary of the Skeena River. Since 1834, the Gitando have been based at Lax Kw'alaams, following establishment of a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

trading fort there. They are closely related to the

Gispaxlo'ots 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 ...

, another of the Nine Tribes, who have an adjacent territory.

History and government

The Tsimshian have a matrilineal kinship system, with property and inheritance passed through the maternal line. The chieftainship of the Gitando resides with the hereditary name-title ''Sgagweet,'' the holder of which is chief of the House of Sgagweet, a

Laxsgiik The Laxsgiik (variously spelled) is the name for the Eagle "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to identically named groups among the nei ...

(Eagle clan) house-group (or extended matrilineal family). In 1938 American anthropologist

Viola Garfield Viola E. Garfield (December 5, 1899 – November 25, 1983) was an American Anthropology, anthropologist best known for her work on the social organization and plastic arts of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia and Alaska. Early life Viola E ...

reported that the title name was derived from chief Paul Sgagweet, who died in 1887 and was commemorated by a 15-foot

totem pole 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 ...

marble headstone representing one of his most prominent crests, the "Standing Feeding Beaver." The totem pole still stands in the village of Lax Kw'alaams in the 21st century. Paul Sgagweet bequeathed the name to his first cousin or sister's son, Alfred Dudoward. Dudoward was instrumental in establishing a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

mission at Lax Kw'alaams. Dudoward had no (matrilineal) heirs and so adopted his own son and a niece into the house. The son inherited the name Sgagweet after Dudoward's death in 1914 or 1915. He was holding the chief's position and title when Garfield was writing in 1938. He had designated the niece's son as his successor. But this son, named Clarence Watson, moved to Southern British Columbia and accepted the Canadian franchise, which at the time required him to surrender his Native Status. After that, the chieftainship was held in trust by the sons of Alfred Dudoward. The youngest, Charles Dudoward (Chief Wiishakes), gave the responsibility to his first cousin's son, Libby Kelly. From Libby the names were passed to his nephews Mitch and Fred Dudoward. But, the name ''Sgagweet'' has never been assigned to anyone since Alfred Dudoward.{{citation needed, date=June 2016

Houses and clans

In 1935

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 ...

recorded that Gitando people in Lax Kw'alaams included 14 members of the

Gispwudwada {{short description, Indigenous people of British Columbia/Alaska The Gispwudwada or Gisbutwada (variously spelled) is the name for the Killerwhale "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast A ...

(Killerwhale clan) (1 house-group), 17 members of the

Ganhada The Ganhada (variously spelled, but often as G̱anhada) is the name for the Raven "clan" (phratry) in the language of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and southeast Alaska. It is considered analogous or identical to the G̱anada ( ...

(Raven) (1 house-group), and 25 members of the

(Eagle) (2 house-groups, including the House of Sgagweet, with 5 members). George Kelly was a member of the House of Sgagweet. He was adopted into the Gispaxlo'ots in order to perpetuate the House of

Ligeex Ligeex (variously spelled: "Legaic" etc.) is an hereditary name-title belonging to the Gispaxlo'ots tribe of the Tsimshian First Nation from the village of Lax Kw'alaams (a.k.a. Port Simpson), British Columbia, Canada. The name, and the chieftainsh ...

, a house closely related to Sgagweet. 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 a survey of

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 ...

, described several poles belonging to various Gitando Laxsgiik houses which had stood in Lax Kw'alaams. One, a Sgagweet pole depicting a Standing Beaver, stood until at least 1947. In addition to the House of Sgagweet, other Gitando houses include: * Gilasgamgan—Laxsgiik (Eagle clan) * Gistaaku—Laxsgiik (Eagle) * Gamayaam—Gispwudwada (Killerwhale) * Niisxłoo—Laxsgiik (Eagle) * 'Nluulax—Laxsgiik (Eagle) There were ten houses in total in the early 20th century. But

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

epidemics An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

and migration decimated the population of the Gitanndo and most tribes of the Tsimshian. In the early 21st century, some six families occupy four houses of the Gitando: i) House of Sgagweet ii) House of Gilasgamgan & Gistaaku iii)House of Geyshluk (from Gamayaam)

Sources

* Barbeau, Marius (1950) ''Totem Poles.'' 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, ''National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.'') Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. * Garfield, Viola E. (1939) "Tsimshian Clan and Society." ''University of Washington Publications in Anthropology,'' vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 167–340. * Neylan, Susan (2003) ''The Heavens Are Changing: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions and Tsimshian Christianity.'' Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. * Reece, Scott (1997-2002) ''Oral Interviews of Lax Kw'alaams Elders.'' Lax Kw'alaams, and Prince Rupert, BC. Tsimshian