Gitxsan
"GIT-ksan"
“Gitxsan” translates to “people of the river of mist,” meaning the Skeena River. In this historic hall, the Nisg̱a’a, Gitxsan and Tsimshian people are referred to together as “Tsimshian.” In the past, anthropologists categorized these three distinct nations as one people because they speak related languages.
Population: 8,389 (as of 2015) Language: Gitsenimx, a language in the Tsimshianic language family

Coming Home
Gitsegukla, British Columbia
“My mom grew up in Gitsegukla. I lived there with her for six months when I was about six years old. But we mainly lived in the city, in Vancouver. I returned to Gitsegukla when I was about 22 to take photographs on a scholarship. I was nervous to go. I felt like I’d be a bit of a stranger. It was really nice to see family, but also surreal. It took a while to feel part of things again.”
—George Lawson, photographer
Image credit: G. Lawson

Coming Home
Gitsegukla, British Columbia
“My mom grew up in Gitsegukla. I lived there with her for six months when I was about six years old. But we mainly lived in the city, in Vancouver. I returned to Gitsegukla when I was about 22 to take photographs on a scholarship. I was nervous to go. I felt like I’d be a bit of a stranger. It was really nice to see family, but also surreal. It took a while to feel part of things again.”
—George Lawson, photographer
Image credit: G. Lawson
COMING HOME

Coming Home
Gitsegukla, British Columbia
A man gardens in Gitsegukla near totem poles. The village is situated where the Skeena and Kitseguecla Rivers converge.
Image credit: G. Lawson

Coming Home
Gitsegukla, British Columbia
Children’s art hangs outside the all-purpose center in Gitsegukla, a Gitxsan community of about 500 people. In the Gitxsan language, Gitsegukla translates roughly to “people of the sharp-pointed mountain.”
Image credit: G. Lawson
FROM THE COLLECTIONS: Gitxsan labret

Labret
High-ranking Northwest Coast women wore lip ornaments until the practice died out by 1900. A Gitxsan girl’s lower lip was pierced with an awl when she was seven years old, then a small wooden plug was inserted. She would insert larger labrets over her lifetime. One this large and valuable, inlaid with precious abalone shell, belonged to an older woman who had maintained her high status.
This labret is from Kispiox in Gitxsan territory in northern British Columbia, Canada.

Labret
High-ranking Northwest Coast women wore lip ornaments until the practice died out by 1900. A Gitxsan girl’s lower lip was pierced with an awl when she was seven years old, then a small wooden plug was inserted. She would insert larger labrets over her lifetime. One this large and valuable, inlaid with precious abalone shell, belonged to an older woman who had maintained her high status.
This labret is from Kispiox in Gitxsan territory in northern British Columbia, Canada.
VILLAGE REVIVAL

Village Revival
Hazelton, British Columbia
K’san Historical Village and Museum replicates a traditional Gitxsan village. It is located near the site of a former village called Gitanmaax. According to custom, the houses form a single line facing the river, so that their decorated fronts and totem poles are visible from the water. Visitors come here from around the world to learn about Gitxsan culture.
Image credit: J. Elk III/Alamy

Village Revival
Hazelton, British Columbia
The stage is set for a program inside one of the K’san Village longhouses. The replicated village originated as a museum called the Skeena Treasure House. At its start in the 1950s, this museum was a joint project of Gitxsan and non-Native residents of nearby Hazelton, BC, intended to improve relations between the two through a better understanding of Gitxsan culture.
Image credit: A. Follett Hosgood

Vital Waterway
Skeena River, British Columbia
The Skeena River runs through Tsimshian and Gitxsan territory and figures significantly in their living traditions. Steelhead trout, as well as five types of salmon, spawn in this unspoiled, 360-mile (580-km) long waterway.
Image credit: K. Douglas/AGE Fotostock
See more from the Museum's collection of Gitxsan, Tsimshian, and Nisg̱a'a (Tsimshianic) objects.
Image credit for lead photo: D. Gless