Haida people

Haida
Regions with significant populations
	Canada (British Columbia), United States (Alaska)
Languages
	English, Haida

The Haida are an indigenous people of the west coast of North America. The Haida Nation territories comprise an archipelago called Haida Gwaii, off the coast of British Columbia, and parts of what is now southeast Alaska. Their main archipelago is commonly known by the European applied name, the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Haida are commonly referred to in Canada as being a First Nations "band" (not "tribe" as in American parlance). Their ancestral language is the Haida language, which has never been adequately classified by linguists because of its uniqueness, and is now extremely endangered. In addition to those Haida residing on Haida Gwaii and in Alaska, there are also many Haidas in various urban areas in the western United States and Canada.

The Haida people are well known as skilled artisans of wood, metal and design. They have also shown much perseverance and resolve in the area of forest conservation. These vast forests of cedar and spruce where the Haida make their home are on pre-glacial land which is believed to be almost 14,000 years old. Haida communities located in Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, and the Queen Charlotte Islands also share a common border with other indigenous peoples such as the Tlingit and the Cape Fox tribes of the Tsimshian.

The Tlingit called the Haida Deikeenaa, "far out to sea people", from the distance separating Haida Gwaii from the mainland and the Alexander Archipelago.

Although Haida societal structure is a living process, its roots are in the ancient potlatch system and remain recognizable in contemporary political, economic and legal functions. On that portion of Haida territory claimed by Canada, the two communities of Massett and Skidegate have Band Councils that experience varying degrees of influence and control by Canada's federal government. The persistence of Haida government can be seen in that the influence of the Band Councils, insofar as they may be seen as agents of Canadian government authority, are regulated by a community governance system of Matriarchs and Lineage authorities.

Haidas were traditionally known as fierce warriors and slave-traders, raiding as far as California. Haida oral narratives record journeys as far north as the Bering Sea, and one account implies that even Asia was visited by Haidas before Europeans entered the Pacific. The Haida ability to travel was dependent upon a supply of ancient Western Redcedar trees that they carved into their famous Pacific Northwest Canoes. Carved from a single redcedar tree, a vessel could sleep 15 adults head to toe, and was propelled by up to 60 paddlers (who often included women). In the event of a battle at sea, paddlers were armed with heavy stone rings (18 to 23 kg) attached to woven tree root or bark ropes. These devices, when thrown at enemy canoes, inflicted substantial damage. Haida warriors entered battle with redcedar armor, wooden shields, stone maces and atlatls. War helmets were elaborately carved, and armor was made or reinforced with metal, stone, bone or copper.

The Haida were hunters and gatherers. Because they lived so near the sea, fishing was crucial to them. Salmon was a main source of food, which was filleted & smoked to keep through the winter. The skeleton of the first salmon caught in a season was always placed back where it was caught. This was an offering, so the Salmon would return the following season.

File:Totem RMBC 3.jpg

Haida totem pole at Thunderbird Park in Victoria, BC.^[1]

Like all indigenous peoples of the northwest coast of North America, the Haida make extensive use of redcedar bark, which is still used both as a textile for clothing, ropes and sails, and in its raw form, as a building material or even armor. Most goods were fashioned from the wood of the Western Redcedar, Nootka Cypress, Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce. Highly prized plant bark and root weavers still create an array of clothing including hats and containers. The ancient Naahinn form of weaving -- also called Chilkat -- continues, although commercially produced wool is used instead of mountain goat. The famous Haida totem poles were also carved on the trunks of Red Cedar trees.

In ancient times, valuable items were also fashioned from copper. Haida culture places high value on a sophisticated and abstract iconic art form. Although most impressively expressed in large monumental totem poles, this highly disciplined design is applied to a wide range of materials, including the human body through tattooing. The diversity of Haida design today can be seen, among other things, in its expression through Haida Manga.

The Haida theory of social structure is based on moiety lineages. That is, the society is divided into two groupings, one called Raven and the other Eagle. There are a variety of subgroups that fall into either of the moieties. The moieties and their subgroups of Clans, or matrilineal lineages, own unique combinations of crests and other intellectual properties such as songs and names. People cannot marry a member of their own moiety. Potlatches, ceremonies to show wealth or to earn status in a community, were closely linked to a man's moiety. Potlatches would have been a huge celebration, hosted by a wealthy member of the community. A host would have invited hundreds of guests. Guests would have come in best dress and in best canoes, ready for up to 10 days of feasting. Afterwards, all the host's possessions were distributed to guests. However, this would not have bankrupted a host, as they could always rely on getting gifts from a neighbours potlatch, if theirs was up to standard.

Tribal/Band Government

Although much reduced by commercial activities, the natural abundance of forest and sea in the Haida archipelagos remains an essential aspect of contemporary Haida culture. The Council of the Haida Nation continues to pursue a policy of rescuing natural lands and waters. It is also co-managing, with the government of Canada, the wild and diverse islands of the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site, which is reserved for National Park status within the Canadian National Park system.

The Haida of Prince of Wales Island traditionally lived in three villages on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island and in one village on the island's east coast. In 1911, with the encouragement and support of the U.S. government and the Presbyterian Church, the three Haida villmy boyzages of Cordova Hay consolidated at Hydaburg. On June 19, 1912, President William Howard Taft signed Executive Order no. 1555, establishing the Hydaburg Reservation for the protection and civilization of the Haida. Hydaburg was modeled on what would be known as the Metlakatla Plan, whereby the natives would be the developers and proprietors of the community and its enterprises, and would be treated as citizens of the United States while at home.

The Haida have been involved in three distinct processes of adjudicating their aboriginal claims. In 1935 the Tlingit and Haida brought suit against the United States in a court of claims case that awarded the Tlingit and Haida of Alaska $7.2 million for the taking of aboriginal lands by the United States when it establilosshed the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve (now known as the Tongass National Forest) in 1902. The Tlingit and Haida Central Council was designated as the administrator of funds and programs derived from the court of claims case.

In April 1938, the Hydaburg Cooperative Association became the first economic enterprise organized under the terms of the Alaska Reorganization Act. Shortly thereafter the association filed a petition with the Department of the losInterior for a reservation and submitted to an adjudicative process for its creation. The reservation was subsequently established, but in 1952 the agreement that led to its creation was declared null and void by the U.S. District Court.

Settlement Act was signed into law, authorizing the creation of for-profit corporations for each losof the native villages in Alaska. Village corporations with significant losHaida shareholders include Haidlosa Corporation in Hydaburg, Kavilco in Kasaan, and Shaan-Seet in Craig. These village corporations incorporated under the laws of Alaska and received a total of 23,040 acres of land, much of it forest lands. The corporations are looking at ways to enter into various business opportunities on Prince of Wales Island such as forest-products, hospitality, charter-fishing, oil-products, and rock-crushing operations.

In contrast to the Haida in Alaska, Haida in the towns of Masset and Skidegate in the Canadian reserves were administered by the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs. In the twentieth century, Haida in Masset continued to make their livings primarily from fishing. Many employed women worked in a cannery in nearby New Masset. Residents of Skidegate found work in the logging camps on their reserves. During the 1960s, when the Canadian authorities encouraged greater Indian participation in self-governance, the Masset and Skidegate Haidas renewed their traditional arts, including the erection of totem poles, the revival of dance, and the building of canoes. In the 1980s, the two villages formed the Council of the Haida Nation to support their political interests.

The issue most important to the modern Haidas continues to be the establishment of a governing body that will have political and economic control of their ancestral homelands. Problems with defining the role of an officially recognized Haida tribe are complicated by the Indian Reorganization Act, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and the institutions created under those laws

As for the Haida Nation in Canada, the 2004 Supreme Court of Canada in Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), [2004] 3 S.C.R. 511 declared that the Crown had a legal duty to consult with the Haida Nation and accommodate their interests when issuing a timber license to a forestry company for harvesting wood on lands claimed by the Haida Nation. This decision is made in view of the Court's famous 1997 decision of Delgamuukw v. British Columbia, [1997] 3 S.C.R. 1010 where the Court had established the legal precedent that a First Nations band in Canada can make claim to "Aboriginal title" to specific land, despite Crown sovereignty over all lands in Canada, if they had occupied such land prior to the Crown asserting its sovereignty over this land and if the specific land itself is integral to the First Nations band's distinctive culture. The concept of "Aboriginal title" extends beyond the mere right to use (e.g. to hunt and fish on) specific lands, but it is different from typical private land ownership in that "Aboriginal title" is a communal right linked to indigenous culture.

Notes

Notable Haidas

Florence Davidson, artist and memoirist
Reg Davidson, artist
Robert Davidson, artist
Freda Diesing, artist
Charles Edenshaw, artist
Gerry Marks, artist
Bill Reid, artist
Jay Simeon, artist
Don Yeomans, artist

Haida people

Tribal/Band Government

See also

Notes

Notable Haidas

Anthropologists and other scholars who have worked with the Haida

Further reading