Gitksan
The Gitksan are an Indigenous tribal group located in western-central British Columbia, Canada, primarily inhabiting the Skeena River valley. They share linguistic and cultural ties with the Tsimshian people to the west and have also engaged in intermarriage with the Nishga community. Traditionally, the Gitksan relied on the rich resources of their environment, particularly salmon, along with various ocean species and land mammals. Their social structure is characterized by matrilineal descent, although marriage customs involve residing near the groom's family, which is a less common practice globally.
In recent decades, the Gitksan have sought greater autonomy and self-governance, filing land claims for over 35,000 square miles of territory in 1984. Despite facing setbacks, including a decision against their claims in 1991, they have continued to pursue community-based self-governance, aiming for a level of autonomy similar to that of other Indigenous groups. As of August 2018, they were progressing through the treaty negotiation stages, reflecting ongoing efforts to secure their rights and control over their local governance and resources.
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Gitksan
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Northwest coast
Language group: Tsimshian
Primary location: British Columbia, Canada
Population size: 5,075 (Canada Statistics, 2022)
The Gitksan are a tribal group of western-central British Columbia, closely related in language and culture to the Tsimshian, their neighbors to the west. They originally occupied the Skeena River valley; since 1900, however, some have moved into parts of the adjacent Nass River system to the northwest, where they have intermarried with some members of the Nishga, another group closely related to the Tsimshian.
The Gitksan possess many of the same general cultural features of other groups in the Northwest Coast culture area. They rely on predictable and abundant salmon runs, fish for ocean species such as halibut and cod, and collect shellfish, including several species of clams. The Gitksan also traditionally hunted elk, blacktail deer, beaver, fox, and several types of sea mammals (primarily seal).
In general, Gitksan social organization resembles that of other west-central coastal groups. Traditionally they traced descent through the female side (matrilineal descent), but married couples were obligated to reside in or near the house of the groom’s parents (patrilocality). Cross-culturally, this is an unusual pattern. Some anthropologists have speculated that the Gitksan, along with other Northwest Coast groups, may have been exclusively matrilineal/matrilocal in the past, but because through time so much wealth and property was being accumulated by males, cultural evolution favored a shift to institutions sanctioning male control over residence and the eventual transference of property through the male line.
On October 23, 1984, the Gitksan, along with other native groups of central-western Canada, filed a land claim for a little more than 35,000 square miles of central British Columbia. In 1991, the Canadian Government decided against the Gitksan. These same groups, along with the Gitksan, subsequently filed an appeal. The Gitksan also filed for what has been termed “community-based self government.” This, in principle, is similar to the autonomy achieved by such groups as the Navajo (Diné) of the southwestern United States. If successful, the Gitksan would have more control over their local economic, political, and social circumstances, but the process is lengthy, involving six steps. As of August 2018, the Gitksan people were in stage four of this British Columbia treaty process, or the Agreement-in-Principle negotiations.
Bibliography
Eades, Gwilym Lucas. Maps and Memes: Redrawing Culture, Place, and Identity in Indigenous Communities. McGill-Queen's UP, 2015.
Muckle, Robert J. The First Nations of British Columbia. 3rd ed. U of British Columbia P, 2014.
Powell, J., et al. "Gitxsan." The Canadian Encyclopedia. 3 Aug. 2018, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/gitksan. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Steritt, Neil J. Mapping My Way Home: A Gitxsan History. Creekstone Press, 2016.