Tsimshian

For the languages, see Tsimshianic languages.
Tsimshian
Tsimshian drumming in 1999
Total population
8,162
Regions with significant populations
Canada
British Columbia		5,910[1]
United States
Alaska		2,252[2]
Languages
English • Coast Tsimshian
Religion
Christianity (Episcopalianism, Presbyterianism, Methodism) • Animism
PeopleTs’msyan
LanguageSm'álgyax
Sgüüx̣s
CountryLa̱xyuubm Ts’msyen[3]
Tsimshian Nisga'a stone mask, made around 1870 - greenish hard stone (Gabbro), pigment; from the Alphonse Pinart collection, Musée du quai Branly in Paris.[4] This stone mask has a twin, without apertures for eyes, residing in the Canadian Museum of History. Separated over one hundred years, the two masks were reunited 1975, when the Paris mask travelled to Canada to appear in the exhibition "Images Stone: B.C." It was then that the relationship between the two masks, expressions of the same face, was re-discovered.[5]

The Tsimshian[6] (/ˈsɪmʃiən/; Tsimshian: Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen also once known as the Chemmesyans) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only reservation in Alaska.

The Tsimshian estimate there are 45,000 Tsimshian people and approximately 10,000 members are federally registered in eight First Nations communities (including the Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, Gitxaala, Gitga'at at Hartley Bay, and Kitasoo at Klemtu) Lax Kw'Alaams, and Metlakatla, BC. The latter two communities resulted in the colonial intersections of early settlers and consist of Tsimshian people belonging to the 'nine tribes.' The Tsimshian are one of the largest First Nations peoples in northwest British Columbia. Some Tsimshian migrated to the Annette Islands in Alaska, and today approximately 1,450 Alaska Tsimshian people are enrolled in the federally recognized Metlakatla Indian Community, sometimes also called the Annette Island Reserve. The Tsimshian honor the traditional Tlingit name of Taquan for this recent location. Some citizens of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska are of Tsimshian heritage.[7]

Tsimshian society is matrilineal kinship-based, which means identity, clans and property pass through the maternal line. Their moiety-based societal structure is further divided into sub clans for certain lineages. The Tsimshian language has some 27 different terms for 'chief' likely because it is a stratified and ranked society.

Early Euro-Canadian anthropologists and linguists had classified the Gitxsan and Nisga'a as Tsimshian, because of apparent linguistic affinities. The three were all referred to as "Coast Tsimshian", even though some communities were not coastal. These three groups, however, are separate nations.

  1. ^ "Aboriginal Ancestry Responses (73), Single and Multiple Aboriginal Responses (4), Residence on or off reserve (3), Residence inside or outside Inuit Nunangat (7), Age (8A) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  2. ^ Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder – Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2018-03-30. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ Armstrong, Chelsey Geralda; Lyons, Natasha; McAlvay, Alex C.; Ritchie, Patrick Morgan; Lepfsky, Dana; Blake, Michael (2023). "Historical ecology of forest garden management in Laxyuubm Ts'msyen and beyond". Ecosystems and People. 19 (1). Bibcode:2023EcoPe..1960823A. doi:10.1080/26395916.2022.2160823.
  4. ^ "Masque - Musée du Quai Branly: Cartographie des Collections".
  5. ^ "Civilization.ca - Gateway to Aboriginal Heritage - Pacific Coast".
  6. ^ There are many other ways to spell the name, such as: Tsimpshean, Tsimshean, Tsimpshian, and others; this article will use the most common spelling, "Tsimshian".
  7. ^ "Culture". Visit Sitka. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 2024-05-21.