Nisga'a

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For the Nisga'a language, see Nisga'a language.
Nisg̱a'a
Flag of Nisga'a
Capital undefined - does not exist (de facto)
Ethnic groups  Nisga'a
Government Band of Clans
 -  President Nelson Leeson
 -  Clan Chiefs (Simgigat) Chester Moore
 -  Clan Matriarchs (Sigidimhaanak) {{{leader_name3}}}
 -  Village Chief Councillors {{{leader_name4}}}
 -  CEO Edward Allen
 -  Land-claim settlement May 11, 2000 
Area
 -  Total 2,000 km² 
775 sq mi 
Population
 -   estimate 6000 
Image:Nisga'a mask Louvre MH 81-22-1.jpg
Mask with open eyes, worn during winter halait ceremonies, 18th–early 19th century

The Nisg̱a'a (IPA: [nisqaʔa]), often formerly spelled Nishga, are an Indigenous nation or First Nations in Canada. They live in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. Their name means "People of the Nass (River)".

Nisg̱a'a society is organized into four clans: Ganada (Raven), Gisk'aast (Killer Whale), Lax̱gibuu (Wolf), and Lax̱sgiik (Eagle).

The Nisg̱a'a people number about 6,000. In British Columbia the Nisg̱a'a Nation is represented by four Villages and 3 urban societies. These are:

Approximately 2,500 live in the Nass Valley (within the 4 villages) and another 3,500 Nisg̱a'a live elsewhere in Canada, and around the world (predominantly within the 3 urban societies).

Contents

[edit] Treaty

Main article: Nisga'a Final Agreement

On May 11, 2000, a land-claim was settled between the Nisg̱a'a, the government of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada. As part of the settlement in the Nass River valley nearly 2,000 square kilometres of land was officially recognized as Nisg̱a'a, and a 300,000 cubic decameter water reservation was also created. The Bear Glacier Provincial Park was also created as a result of this agreement. The land-claim's settlement was the first formal treaty signed by a First Nation in British Columbia since the Douglas Treaties in 1854.

[edit] History

Main article: Tseax Cone

The Tseax Cone situated in a valley above and east of the Tseax River was the source for an eruption during the 18th century that killed approximately 2,000 Nisga'a people from poisonous volcanic gases.

[edit] See also

[edit] Prominent Nisga'as

[edit] Bibliography

  • Barbeau, Marius (1950) Totem Poles. 2 vols. (Anthropology Series 30, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 119.) Ottawa: National Museum of Canada.
  • Boas, Franz, Tsimshian Texts (Nass River Dialect), 1902
  • Boas, Franz, Tsimshian Texts (New Series), [1912
  • Boston, Thomas (ed.) (1996) From Time before Memory. New Aiyansh, B.C.: School District No. 92 (Nisga’a).
  • Bryant, Elvira C. (1996) Up Your Nass. Church of Religious Research.
  • 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.
  • Dean, Jonathan R. (1993) "The 1811 Nass River Incident: Images of First Conflict on the Intercultural Frontier." Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 83-103.
  • "Fur Trader, A" (Peter Skene Ogden) (1933) Traits of American Indian Life and Character. San Francisco: Grabhorn Press. Reprinted, Dover Publications, 1995. (Ch. 4 is the earliest known description of a Nisga'a feast.)
  • McNeary, Stephen A. (1976) Where Fire Came Down: Social and Economic Life of the Niska. Ph.D. dissertation, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Penn.
  • Patterson, E. Palmer, II (1982) Mission on the Nass: The Evangelization of the Nishga (1860-1890). Waterloo, Ontario: Eulachon Press.
  • Raunet, Daniel (1996) Without Surrender, without Consent: A History of the Nisga’a Land Claims. Revised ed. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre.
  • Rose, Alex (2000) Spirit Dance at Meziadin: Chief Joseph Gosnell and the Nisga'a Treaty. Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour Publishing.
  • Roth, Christopher F. (2002) "Without Treaty, without Conquest: Indigenous Sovereignty in Post-Delgamuukw British Columbia." Wicazo Sa Review, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 143-165.
  • Sapir, Edward (1915) "A Sketch of the Social Organization of the Nass River Indians." Anthropological Series, no. 7. Geological Survey, Museum Bulletin, no. 19. Ottawa: Government Printing Office. (Online version at the Internet Archive)
  • Sterritt, Neil J., et al. (1998) Tribal Boundaries in the Nass Watershed. Vancouver: U.B.C. Press.

[edit] External links

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