The Laxgibuu or Laxgyibuu (variously spelled) is the name for the Wolf "clan" (phratry) 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 identically named clans among the neighboring

Gitksan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan) are an Indigenous peoples in Canada, 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 ...

and

Nisga'a The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga'a language as (pronounced ), are an Indigenous people of Canada in British Columbia. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The name is a r ...

nations. The name ''Laxgibuu'' derives from ''gibuu,'' which means wolf in the Gitxsan and Nisga'a languages. In Tsimshian the word is ''gibaaw (gyibaaw or gyibaw)'', but Tsimshians still use the word Laxgibuu for Wolf clan. The chief crest of the Laxgibuu is the Wolf. Other crests used by some matrilineal house-groups of the Laxgibuu include black bear. Some Laxgibuu house-groups are related to Wolf clan groups among the

Tahltan The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahane' ...

and

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

First Nations to the north. In the case of the Tlingit, the connection is through Tlingit Wolves who migrated south from what is now Alaska to escape inter-clan warfare and settled among the Tsimshian, Gitxsan, and Nisga'a. Descendants of some of these migrants share with their distant Tlingit relatives variants on 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 ...

" story which has been well recorded by anthropologists and folklorists. The Kitsumkalum Laxgibuu are one example of a Tsimshian Wolf group who own the right to tell this story.

Nisga'a - Laxgibuu

Some Nisga'a Laxgibuu Wilp (House groups) include: *Gitwilnaak'il Clan: ***House of Duuḵ - William Moore ***House of K'eex̱kw - Herbert Morven ***House of Gwingyoo - Ben Gonu Sr. & Reginald Percival (prev. Leonard Robinson) *Gisḵ'ansnaat Clan: ***House of Sg̱at'iin - Isaac Guno ***House of Ni'isyoḵ - Martin Adams ***House of Gwisḵ'aayn - Gerald Robinson *Gitlax̱t'iyooḵ Clan: ***House of Bax̱k'ap - Jacob Nyce ***House of Ax̱dii M̓in'aajax̱ - Gary Alexcee ***House of W̓ii Gadim X̱sgaak - Clyde Azak *Gitgigeenix Clan: ***House of N̓agwa'un - (previously Rod Maxwell) ***House of Ni'islisy̓aan - Edward Moore ***House of Kw'ax̱suu - Floyde Stevens ***House of Gints'aadax̱ - Henry Stephens *Gitwilluuyaxw Clan: ***House of Ksdiyaawaḵ - George Williams Sr. *House of Wii N̓aa Buxw - successor apparent: Calvin Morven (previously Terry Morven) *House of Ax̱gwindaskw - Clifford Azak Sr. *House of Aama Gat - (previously Gary Stevens) *House of W̓ii Gwisyaxw - Arnie Stewart, Sr. *House of X̱sduutgum Lax̱ha - Joe Calder

Bibliography

*Barbeau, Marius (1929) ''Totem Poles 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. *Marsden, Susan (2001) "Defending the Mouth of the Skeena: Perspectives on Tsimshian Tlingit Relations." In: ''Perspectives in Northern Northwest Coast Prehistory,'' ed. by Jerome S. Cybulski, pp. 61–106. (Mercury Series, Archaeological Survey of Canada, Paper 160.) Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization *McDonald, James A. (2003) ''People of the Robin: The Tsimshian of Kitsumkalum.'' CCI 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