The Gits'iis are one of the 14 tribes of the

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terrace and ...

nation in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, and one of the nine of those tribes making up the "Nine Tribes" 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 na ...

resident at

Lax Kw'alaams A lax is a salmon. LAX as an acronym most commonly refers to Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California, United States. LAX or Lax may also refer to: Places Within Los Angeles * Union Station (Los Angeles), Los Angeles' main tr ...

(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C.

Overview

The name ''Gits'iis'' means literally "people of the seal trap." Their traditional territory includes the areas around the Khutzeymateen Inlet and Work Channel, between Lax Kw'alaams and Kincolith, B.C. Since 1834, they have been based at Lax Kw'alaams, when a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

fort was established there. The chieftainship of the Gits'iis resides with 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-clan) hereditary name-title Niisyaganaat and the royal house-group (extended matrilineal family) of the same name. The current Niisyaganaat is Lawrence Helin, uncle to the author

Calvin Helin Calvin Helin is a Canadian businessman and writer on aboriginal topics who is a member of the Tsimshian First Nation in northwestern British Columbia. He is from the Tsimshian village community of Lax Kw'alaams, B.C., son of Barry Helin (Niisł ...

. Both William Beynon and the anthropologist

Viola Garfield Viola E. Garfield (December 5, 1899 – November 25, 1983) was an American 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 Edmundson was ...

describe in their writings of a

potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...

feast held ''circa'' 1930 for the death of Herbert Wallace, who had held Niisyaganaat. An earlier chief of the Gits'iis, according to Garfield, had been one Abraham Lincoln, named not for the U.S. president but for an employer named Lincoln and for the biblical

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

. The artist

Bill Helin Bill Helin is a Canadian artist, illustrator, jewelry designer engraver, writer, tourism and branding expert, drumming specialist, singing and verbal storyteller; and logo and gift product designer in the Northwest Coast style and a member of t ...

is described as a member of the Gits'iis tribe.

Houses of the Gits'iis

* House of Asagalyaan --

Laxgibuu The Laxgibuu or Laxgyibuu (variously spelled) is the name for the Wolf "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 clans am ...

(Wolf clan) * House of Dago'milsk—Ganhada (Raven) * House of Łüüm—Ganhada (Raven) * House of 'Wiilaxha—Gispwudwada (Killerwhale) The House of Łüüm and the House of Dago'milsk are two other Ganhada house-groups of the Gits'iis tribe. A

totem pole Totem poles () 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 made from large t ...

belonging to Dago'milsk, depicting a sea lion with gun in his mouth, was still standing (with the gun having fallen away) in Lax Kw'alaams in the 1930s.

Sources

* Barbeau, Marius (1950) ''Totem Poles.'' 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. * Beynon, William (1992) "The Feast of Nisyaganaat, Chief of the Gitsiis." In ''Na Amwaaltga Tsmsiyeen: The Tsimshian, Trade, and the Northwest Coast Economy,'' ed. by Susan Marsden, pp. 45–54. (Suwilaay'msga Na Ga'niiyatgm, Teachings of Our Grandfathers, vol. 1.) Prince Rupert, B.C.: First Nations Advisory Council of School District #52. * Garfield, Viola E. (1939) "Tsimshian Clan and Society." ''University of Washington Publications in Anthropology,'' vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 167–340. * Helin, Calvin (2006) ''Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success through Self-Reliance.'' Vancouver: Orca Spirit Publishing and Communications. Tsimshian