(A39495) THE GITK’A’ATA, THEIR HISTORY, AND THEIR TERRITORIES REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE GITK’A’ATA JANUARY 2012 BY SUSAN MARSDEN 1 (A39495) PREAMBLE I have been asked by Peter Grant and Associates on behalf of Gitk’a’ata to undertake the following: “For purposes of providing evidence to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Panel of Gitga'at title and rights, we would like you to provide an expert report. Because we are operating under severe time contraints in regard to the submission of evidence to the Panel, and because we are thus forced to focus on only those portions of Gitga'at territory where Enbridge's tankers pose the most persistent and significant threats to the Gitga'at people, we ask you to limit the geographic scope of your report to the land/marine areas along Douglas Channel beginning at Kitkiata Inlet and Hawkesbury Island (across the Channel from Kitkiata Inlet), south to the islands at the mouth of the Channel out to and including Campania Island.” The structure of the report is as follows: § in the first section after the Introduction, section 2 (2.1-2.5), I address the Gitk’a’ata in the context of the Tsimshian and other Northwest coast nations and provide an overview of theTsimshian legal system as it concerns territorial ownership, and of the role of the adawx in this system and its relevance to this report. § in section 3 (3.1-3.5) I present a summary of the history of the founding peoples of Gitk’a’ata. It is the adawx, which are each owned, told, and perpetuated by the lineage leaders, that tell the history of their lineage and together these histories tell the history of the tribe, the region, the nation and other nations. They tell, among other things, the lineage’s place of origin, its migrations, the villages it has populated, its trade alliances, its rise to prominence or its fall, and its experiences of war and natural disasters. § in sections 4, 5 and 6 (4.1, 5.1-5.5, and 6.1-6.2), I provide a summary of the later lineages that joined the early Gitk’a’ata during two important periods of migration, and a brief reference to recent history. § in Sections 7 through 9, I provide an overview of the territories of the Gitk’a’ata in the geographical area along Douglas Channel beginning at Kitkiata Inlet and Hawkesbury Island (across the Channel from Kitkiata Inlet), south to the islands at the mouth of the Channel out to and including Campania Island. A note about the Sm’algyax orthography: the orthography currently in use among the Tsimshian was introduced by John Dunn who has spent most of his career working on the language and with the Tsimshian. As a result there are no competing orthographies among the Tsimshian. Marie-Lucie Tarpent, a linguist who works with the southern Tsimshian at Kitasoo and with the Nisga’a, has contributed significantly to the understanding of the language and the importance of morphemes (the component words that make up most words). Most of the words in this report are from primary research materials written in the international linguistic orthography and have been rewritten in the current orthography by the author. Every effort has been made here to write the language as consistently and as faithfully as possible. A note on the spelling of Gitk’a’ata: this word has been translated as Git – people of; k’a’at – cane waters, referring to the practice of touching the lineages cane to the territory as part of the ceremony at the time of its acquisition. This spelling is based on the orthography in use in the Barbeau-Beynon Fieldnotes and the Wilson Duff Files. Modern spellings of key places are difficult to standardize as the use of the barred l (l), makes typing challenging, and underlining a letter and adding an umlaut (double dots above a letter) almost impossible. For example the “k” in Gitk’a’ata should probably be underlined, Gitk’a’ata. It is for this reason that there are often several spellings for a word that is in common use. A note on legal perspective: this report is written entirely from the point of view of indigenous Northwest Coast law, not Canadian law. The Tsimshian are quite clear that they have their own system of law, ayaawx, concerning their rights and title. It is the elements of this law that are referred to in this report. The author does not in any way speak to Canadian law as it views aboriginal rights and title. 2 (A39495) This report draws extensively from several voluminous primary sources, those listed in the bibliography by Marius Barbeau, William Beynon and Wilson Duff. These sources are an almost unique collection of information from the chiefs, matriarchs and elders of Northwest Coast First Nations.1 1 The author has worked with these collections for almost 40 years. 3 (A39495) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. The Tsimshian 2.1 The Tsimshian and Other Northwest Coast Nations 2.2 The Tsimshian 2.3 The Tsimshian and their Territories 2.4 The Adawx, Northwest Coast Nations and the Tsimshian 2.5 Adawx in this Context 3. The Founding of Gitk’a’ata: The Early Peoples 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Early Wolf Clan 3.3 The Early Raven Clan 3.4 The Early Gispwudwada Clan 3.5 The Early Eagle Clan 4. Gitk’a’ata and the Peoples from the Migration from Temlaxam 4.1 The Gispwudwada from Temlaxam 5. Invasion from the North 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Gwinhuut Eagles 5.3 The Gitxhon Eagles 5.4 The Gwinhuut Wolves 5.5 Trade and a new Era 6. Recent History 6.1 Raiding between Nations 6.2 Arrival of Europeans, the Fur Trade and Missionaries 7. Gitk’a’ata Territories: Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u, Kwilts’oo, K’ts’iini, K’ts’ats’aas (S. End), & Kagaas Region 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u (Northwest Princess Royal Island) House of ‘Wahmoodeml/House of Nismuulx (Gispwudwada) 7.2.1 Territory: Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u (On Where Runs K’u’u (a river)) Surf Inlet & adjacent areas, N. end 7.2.2 Use Areas and Sites in Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u Territory 7.2.3 Marine Areas in Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u Territory 7.2.4 K’yel, in Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u Territory 7.2.5 Fish Traps in Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u Territory 7.2.6 Traplines in Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u Territory 7.2.7 Reserves in Lax’a’lit’aa K’u’u Territory 7.3 Kwilts’oo (Northwest Princess Royal Island) House of ‘Wiinemoolk, Nisnam’o, Ts’uxka, ‘Wiihaywaaxs, Nisyagas, T’mgaw ( Ganeda) 7.3.1 Territory: Kwilts’oo, Cornwall Inlet (also called Rivers Bight) 7.3.2 Use Areas and Sites in Kwilts’oo Territory 7.3.3 Traplines in Kwilts’oo Territory 7.3.4 Archaeological Research in Kwilts’oo Territory 7.3.5 Discussion of Effects of Enbridge Project on K’ts’ats’aas Territory 7.4 K’ts’iini (Northwest Princess Royal Island) House of ‘Wiinemoolk, Nisnam’o, Ts’uxka, ‘Wiihaywaaxs, Nisyagas, T’mgaws (Ganeda) 7.4.1 K’ts’iini, Whalen Lake and watershed – western portion 4 (A39495) 7.4.2 Traplines in K’ts’iini Territory 7.5 K’ts’ats'aas (Gil Island, S. End) House of ‘Wahmoodeml /House of Nismuulx (Gispwudwada) 7.5.1 Territory: K’ts’ats’aas - Gil Island 7.5.2 Use Areas and Sites in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (S. End) 7.5.3 Marine Areas in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (S. End) 7.5.4 Fish Traps in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (S. End) 7.5.5 Traplines in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (S. End) 7.5.6 Reserves in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (S. End) 7.5.7 Archaeological Research K’ts’ats’aas Territory (S. End) 7.6 Kagaas (Campania Island, East Side) House of Txatkwatk/House of Huhulk (Laxskiik) 7.6.1 Territory: Kagaas, K’ak’aas (Wings of … ) Campania Island – East Side 7.6.2 Use Areas and Sites in Kagaas Territory 7.6.3 Marine Areas in Kagaas Territory 7.6.4 Traplines: Kagaas Territory 7.6.5 Reserves: Kagaas Territory 8. Gitk’a’ata Territories - K’ts’ats’aas (N. End), Laxkwildziist, Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs, K’algiiu, K’i’idzul Region 8.1 Introduction 8.2 K’ts’ats'aas (Gil Island) (N. End) House of ‘Wahmoodeml/House of Nismuulx (Gispwudwada) 8.2.1 Territory: K’ts’ats’aas - Gil Island 8.2.2 Use Areas and Sites in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (N. End) 8.2.3 Marine Areas in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (N. End) 8.2.4 Reserves in K’ts’ats’aas Territory (N. End) 8.2.5 Archaeological Research K’ts’ats’aas Territory (N. End) 8.3 Laxkwildziist (Fin Island) House of Txatkwatk/House of Huhuulk (Laxskiik) 8.3.1 Territory: Laxkwildziist (On Where Squirting (clams on beach) Fin Island 8.3.2 Use Areas and Sites in Laxkwildziist Territory 8.3.3 Marine Areas in Laxkwildziist Territory 8.3.4 Reserves in Laxkwildziist Territory 8.4 Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs (SE Pitt Island, Farrant Island, Hinton Island) House of Txatkwatk/House of Huhuulk (Laxskiik) 8.4.1 Territory: Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs (Through Narrows Where Meet Strong Winds) 8.4.2 Use Areas and Sites in Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs Territory 8.4.3 Fish Traps on Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs Territory 8.4.4 Petroglyphs on Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs Territory 8.4.5 Traplines on Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs Territory 8.4.6 Archaeological Research in Maxla Ksatxalgaaxs Territory Gitk’a’ata 8.5 K’algiiu (Douglas Channel, West Side, Hartley Bay) House of ‘Wahmoodeml/House of Nismuulx (Gispwudwada) 8.5.1 Territory: K’algiiu (Douglas Channel, West Side) 8.5.2 Use Areas and Sites in K’algiiu Territory 8.5.3 Fish Traps on K’algiiu Territory 8.5.4 Reserves on K’algiiu Territory 8.6 K’i’idzul (Douglas Channel, West Side) House of ‘Wahmoodeml/House of Nismuulx (Gispwudwada) 8.6.1 Territory: Ki’idzul (Douglas Channel, West Side) 8.6.2 Use Areas and Sites in Ki’idzul Territory 5 (A39495) 8.6.3 Fish Traps on Ki’idzul Territory 9.