Description
Haisla people are a First Nation who reside in Kitimaat. The Haisla consist of two bands: the Kitamaat people, residing in upper Douglas Channel and Devastation Channel, and the Kitlope People, inhabiting upper Princess Royal Channel and Gardner Canal in British Columbia, Canada. The Kitamaat people identify themselves as Haisla, meaning "dwellers downriver". The term Kitamaat originates from the Tsimshian people. In Tsimshian, the name Kitamaat means "people of the snow". Living and working on the water has always been important to the Haisla, and that remains so today. The Haisla people have lived off the land and water resources of the Douglas Channel and our traditional territory for hundreds of years, and protection of those resources for future generations is a strong commitment by every Haisla member.
Language
The Haisla language is officially named Xa’islakala. Historically, the Haisla, along with their neighboring Wuikinuxv and Heiltsuk peoples, were mistakenly identified as the Northern Kwakiutl.
Culture
In the past, the Haisla people were organized into six clans, each named after an animal that held cultural significance for the tribe. It is believed that the Crow clan, the sixth clan, nearly disappeared and merged with the Raven clan. Within each clan, there was a principal chief, known as Xay'mas, who led their respective tribe. These chiefs would convene whenever necessary to discuss matters that impacted the entire tribe. Chiefs were allowed to have multiple wives, and widows of deceased chiefs could be inherited by the succeeding chief. The Haisla people were among the few indigenous nations in northern North America that had a hierarchical class system, comprising noblemen, commoners, and slaves. Noblemen enjoyed privileges such as participating in secret rituals and having authority over commoners and slaves in labor activities. The nobility could be identified by their piercings, with boys wearing earlobe piercings and girls sporting lower lip piercings.