Gingolx, British Columbia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gingolx (Ging̱olx or Kincolith) is a Nisga'a community in the Nass River valley. The village population is approximately 500 people. Gingolx is one of four villages that make up the Nisga'a Nation. The community itself has four clans which are Killer Whale, Eagle, Raven and Wolf. Gingolx's government usually consisted of one chief and 8-10 other council members.
The name Gingolx comes from the Nisga'a language words meaning "place of the skulls." When attacked by another nation, the people of Gingolx fought back and won. They hung their enemies skulls on sticks, lining them up along the river as a warning.
Contents |
[edit] Modern History
Gingolx was founded as a permanent settlement in 1867 by the Christian missionaries who came down river by raft. The founder of the mission was the Rev. Robert Tomlinson, an Anglican medical missionary who succeeded the Rev. Robert A. Doolan, who had begun the Anglican Nass mission at Greenville, a.k.a. Laxgalts'ap. Gingolx's first European type buildings (including houses, a school, and a church) were all built in 1879.
In the 1890s the Rev. William Henry Collison joined Tomlinson at the mission. He died there in 1922, and his memoirs describe the community in detail.
[edit] Isolation
Because of its location on the Nass River near the Alaska Panhandle, Gingolx was once an isolated village, the only ways able to get in being boat or plane. This isolation combined with the surrounding mountains meant Gingolx would often suffer power outages due to snow during the winter months. Residents could go as long as 3 weeks without power until helicopters could be flown in to fix the lines.
In 2003, a 28km road from Gingolx to Greenville was completed, which connected Gingolx to the other three Nisga'a communities. This road links Gingolx to the Nisga'a highway with connections to the Trans-Canada, Yellowhead, and Cassiar Highways.
Culture shock as one medium meets another the connection between what we termed as the outside world is now part of our world, the changes from waiting for a plane or a ferry, and the idea of knowing every person leaving and arriving, to not knowing who is driving that red truck. With isolation we had comfort in knowing, we had beauty which was ours, and now there is caos, we have tourists, in buses, we have no hotels, we have no restraunts, we have no tackle shops, we have no tour guides. All has come into play and now we sit and try to catch up to the times which have came and past us.
[edit] Nathan Barton
One of the main Gingolx chiefs, Nathan Barton, left a lasting impression on the village. Barton pushed for the construction of a new administration building, and the local elementary school which now bears his name.
[edit] Economy
Gingolx's geographic location makes it ideal for fishing, forestry and tourism. There is a successful "Salmon Enhancement Program" situated behind the village at Gingolx's First Creek.
[edit] Culture and Recreation
Gingolx is partly known for its concert band and Gingolx Ceremonial Dancers, who perform at weddings, funerals, and other special occasions such as Crabfest, Seafest, River Boat Days, and the Nisga'a New Year celebration, Hobiye'e.
The summer of 2004 brought the first annual Gingolx Crabfest, an event featuring many famous artists and bands from all across Canada.
Hiking and mountaineering is common, and one of the nearby mountains has a "look-out" which offers brilliant views from three stages on the trail.
The Sons of Kincolith, in 1948 became champions of the All Native Basketball tournament. Kincolith used to have a lacrosse team.
[edit] Prominent Kincolith people
- Norman Tait, carver
- Murphy Oliver Stanley, Master Carver
- Nathan Barton
- Graham Moore
- Edward Nelson
- Rufus Watts
- James Stevens
- Abel Stewart
- Francis Aksidan
- Hubert Doolan
- George Nelson Sr.
- Harold Barton Sr.
- Sam Doolan,
- Jonah Doolan
- Jeffery Benson
- Chester Benson
[edit] Bibliography
- Collison, W. H. (1915) In the Wake of the War Canoe: A Stirring Record of Forty Years' Successful Labour, Peril and Adventure amongst the Savage Indian Tribes of the Pacific Coast, and the Piratical Head-Hunting Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Toronto: Musson Book Company. Reprinted by Sono Nis Press, Victoria, B.C. (ed. by Charles Lillard), 1981.
- Neylan, Susan (2003) The Heavens Are Changing: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions and Tsimshian Christianity. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
- Tomlinson, George, and Judith Young (1993) Challenge the Wilderness: A Family Saga of Robert and Alice Tomlinson, Pioneer Medical Missionaries. Seattle: Northwest Wilderness Books.
