Gitxsan

Selected features from the Northwest Coast Hall.

“Gitxsan” translates to “people of the river of mist,” referring to the Skeena River. The Nisg̲a’a, Tsimshian, and Gitxsan are neighbors along the Skeena and Nass Rivers. These Nations share many traditions, and their languages are closely related.

Matrilineal Society

Gitxsan women performing with the dance group Dancers of Damelahamid (2018). Left to right: Margaret Grenier, Candice Harkley, Jeanette Kotowich, Rebecca Baker-Grenier.
Rafferty Baker/CBC Licensing

In Gitxsan society, lineage descends through women. A female Chief typically chooses an heir from among her children or her sister’s children. A male Chief’s heir is chosen from among his sister’s children. The passing down of Chiefly names, as well as property and responsibility, has remained consistent, following the matrilineal system of genealogy.

Elaborate ceremonial dress shows the high social status of this Gitxsan mother, Mrs. Richard Douse (right), and daughter, Mrs. Fred Good (Maggie), Frog Clan, Wilps Gamlaxyeltxw, photographed in 1910.
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, NA3443

Dorothy Smith Lattie received the Gitxsan name Wii Gaak when she became a Wolf Clan Chief, Village of Gitanmaax, in 2020.
Ando’ohl lax̱ ha | Nathan Combs, Gitxsan Nation

daxgyet | a Chief's authority - In Gitxsanimax̲, the language of the Gitxsan people, this word conveys the strength of the people as well as a Chief's power and authority.

Traveling Between Worlds

Traditional doctors were called halayt, a word that refers to their ability to move between the spirit realm and the physical world. A shaman entered a trance-like state to call on spirit helpers for assistance in healing the sick and easing hardship among the people. 

A Gitxsan healer named Gutgwinuxs (White Owl) used this charm during the 1918 influenza pandemic. It represents a female shaman and was carved by Guxsen (Charles Mark), a shaman and Chief.
Canadian Museum of History, VII-C-1156, D2005-09799

Shamanic power tended to run in families. People born with healing powers worked with proven halayt to strengthen their abilities. Ultimately, the power to cure was gained through a vision quest taken alone. The last Gitxsan shaman practiced in the 1960s.

Am Miiluxw Luulak | Naxnox Mask

AMNH Anthropology catalog 16.1/594

In the worldview of Tsimshian, Nisg̲a'a and Gitxsan people, supernatural spirits called naxnox inhabit all the world. A few exceptional people are able to forge an intimate connection with a naxnox. The spirit then acts as a guardian to help bring success in life. The mask above represents a naxnox in the form of an old woman wearing a large labret on her hinged lip.

Critical Role of Women in the Gitxsan Community

Artist Spotlight: Sug-ii-t Looks | Yolonda Skelton

Patrick Shannon

Sug-ii-t Looks | Yolonda (Loni) Skelton is a fashion designer and textile artist from the Gitxsan Nation. Skelton says that, “When people wear my pieces, it’s their history, wrapped around them, to empower and ground them in their culture."

Her Killer Whale Chilkat Wrap is featured in the Generation to Generation exhibition in the Northwest Coast Hall.

Killer Whale Chilkat Wrap, 2017
Matt Shanley/© AMNH