Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl)
 Location: The Kwakwaka'wakw (kwa-kwa-ka-wak) includes several nations and tribes.
The Kwakiutl are the most famous of the Kwakwaka'wakw nations because of
the research by Franz Boas. They have reserves in northwestern British
Columbia with a higher population on Vancouver Island, a biologically
diverse coastal area that includes temperate rainforest. Many have
migrated away from their villages to have better access to social
services.
According to treaty, the
Kwakuitl have hunting, fishing and gathering rights in their traditional
territory on Vancouver Island. The government has breached this treaty
by giving out land grants.
The Kwakiutl First Nation
continues to pursue Land Claims in the face of privatization. In
1986 they used nonviolent
means to protect Wazulis (Deer Island) from logging. The
activists who were occupying the site found ancient burial remains that
proved their right to the land and won a court order to repatriate the
island (Wonders 2008). The struggle continues as the Ministry of British
Columbia authorized a land transfer in 2007 without consulting the
Kwakuitl. The Ministry's decision allowed Western Forest Products, a
logging company that previously held a Tree Farm License in the area, to
sell 28,000 hectares of land to developers, including 14,000 hectares
that belonged to the Kwakiutl. The following year the Kwakiutl First
Nation initiated a lawsuit against the B.C. government for failing to
consult them on the land transfer.
Language: Kwakwaka'wakw literally
means "the people who speak Kwak'wala." Kwak'wala is a branch of the
Wakashan (Wuh-CASH-shun) linguistic family and it has five dialects. Today less 4% of
Kwakwaka'wakw speak their native language, but they have created
initiatives to revive it through language instruction in primary schools
and Kwak'wala literacy programs for children and adults.Economy: Fish,
particularly salmon,
have always been an important food source for the Kwakwaka'wakw and many
were employed in the commercial fishing industry until the early 1990s. The reserves currently have high unemployment rates and rely on
government assistance. Additionally, the salmon aquaculture industry has
challenged the local communities' access to their traditional food
source. Many studies have shown a connection between fish farms and a
rising sea lice population which is decimating wild salmon stocks, but
scientists are debating whether the farms are directly responsible.
Changes in local aquatic ecology could have a significant impact on
Kwakwaka'wakw people living on reserves because the main components of
their diet include local fish, shellfish, seal, seaweed, and barnacles.
However, the younger generation is beginning to consume less seafood (U'mista
2009).The Potlatch: The potlatch is a
gift-giving ceremony held at major life events. In the words of Agnes
Alfred of Alert Bay: 
"When one's heart is glad, he gives away gifts. Our
Creator gave it to us, to be our way of doing things, to be our way of
rejoicing, we who are Indian. The potlatch was given to us to be our way
of expressing joy" (1980).
A
modern potlatch generally lasts one day
and night and is accompanied by a feast and dances depicting ancient
stories. Each family has their own dances which were given to them by
the Creator and passed down through the
generations. One of the most
important gifts of the potlatch is T'lina, made by rendering the
oil of the dzaxwan (eulachon fish). Families travel to a sacred location every
spring to catch dzaxwan and make T'lina (U'mista 2009). Other common gifts at a
potlatch include jewelry, appliances, and money (Kwakiutl Indian Band
2008). Art: The
Kwakwaka'wakw are
well-known for their masks and totem poles, which depict animals and
supernatural beings. Masks are an integral part dances and the stories
they tell. The totem pole is a record of family history. Today's artists
have revived the arts of carving masks and totem poles as well as canoe
building and Chilkat weaving. Carving is considered a man's art, while
weaving is done by women. The Chilkat technique involves weaving wool
with twine made from cedar bark to make robes, aprons, skirts, and
leggings.
Though this
page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise
on Kwakwaka'wakw culture.
Please send
questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the
web address of this page.
If you are
Kwakwaka'wakw, your feedback is much appreciated.
References:
Blunt, Zoe
2007
First Nations Say World Falling Apart, Will Fight. Lowbagger.org,
February 16.
Kwakiutl Indian Band
2008
Electronic document, http://www.kwakiutl.bc.ca/,
accessed December 11.
Kwakwaka'wakw Blog
2008
Electronic document, http://kwakwakawakw.blogspot.com/, accessed December 11.
'Namgis First Nation
Former
Link http://www.namgis.bc.ca/Pages/default.aspx (2009)
Native Languages of the
Americas
2007
Kwakiutl Language Resources.
Electronic document, http://www.native-languages.org/kwakiutl.htm#language,
accessed December 11, 2008.
Richmond, C., S.J. Elliott,
R. Matthews, and B. Elliott
2005
The Political Ecology of Health: Perceptions of Environment, Economy,
Health and Well-Being Among 'Namgis First Nation.
Health and Place 11(4):349-365.
U'mista Cultural Society
2009
Electronic document, http://www.umista.org/home/index.php, accessed January 18.
Virtual Museum Canada
2009
Preserving the Tradition of T'lina Making. Electronic document, http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/pm.php?id=exhibit_home&fl=0&lg=English&ex=00000120,
accessed January 18.
Wonders, Karen
2008
Kwakiutl. Electronic document, http://firstnations.de/fisheries.htm?04-2-kwakwakawakw-2.htm,
accessed January 28, 2009.
Images:
"Ubumpa, 'Nakwaxda'xw Elder."
Photograph by Adrian Dorst, 1988. Courtesy of First Nations: Land Rights
and Environmentalism in British Columbia: http://www.firstnations.eu/.
"Eulachon Fish." Photograph
by Todd Tisler. Courtesy of the USDA Forest Service.
Written by Melissa
Lorentz, 2009 |
