The Haida People

By Kevin and Traevin

Queen Charlotte Islands The Haida people lived on the western

coast of Canada and up into parts of Alaska, but they were mainly condensed on the Queen Charlotte Islands, which were just north of Vancouver Island.

Lifestlye With the Haida people living on the western

coast, their most accessible resource was salmon, they were known very well for their fishing and boating abilities.

They were also known to practice slavery until European contact in the late 1700’s.

The Haida have also been credited with introduction to the totem pole which they would normally put infront of their houses.

These people have been very closely compared to the Vikings mainly because of their fishing and boating

Religious traditions & spirituality Believed Shamans (spiritual leaders) could

communicate with the spiritual world Shamans could either be men or women, though

were usually men When someone became sick, it was believed to be

the loss of their soul, or intervention from the spirit world. Only Shamans could cure the sick

Shamans wore/used: Bearskin robes, aprons, skin drums, charms, necklaces, masks and rattles (to summon up powers from spirit world)

Had Potlatches. They gave away their best possessions to gain a higher social standin

Potlatches included dancing, singing, feasts, and were usually held because of a change in someone’s social status (marriage, birth, death, coming of age)

Masked Haida dancer

Spiritual Story – “The Raven’s Tale” (Conflict and Robbery)

Long ago no divisions existed between humans, animals and spirits. All things of the earth, sky, and, water were connected and all beings could pass freely between them. The Raven was a trickster full of supernatural power. He stole the sun from his grandfather Nasshahkeeyalhl and made the moon and stars from it. The Raven created lakes, rivers and filled the lands with trees. He divided night and day, then pulled the tides into a rhythm. He filled the streams with fresh water, scattered the eggs of salmon and trout, and placed animals in the forests. The first human was hiding in a giant clamshell and Raven released them onto the beaches and gave humans fire. Raven disappeared and took with him the power of the spirit world to communicate and connect with humans.

A spiritual “button blanket” with a family emblem on it

Housing Permanent Haida housing would consist

of one or more rows of housing strung along a beach. On average the chief’s house would stand in the middle of the row and be the largest house. The houses were constructed from red ceder

History Possibly arrived as far back as 13,000 years ago Two main clans: The Eagles and the Ravens, and more than 100 villages Juan Perez, a Spanish explorer first saw the islands on July 17th, 1774. He

did a little bit of trading with the local Haida people (they paddled their canoes out to Perez’s ship), but never set foot on shore. He left, and didn’t name the new discovery

In 1787, Captain George Dixon (of Britain) was under orders to claim new land and investigate trade opportunities. He named the islands after his ship, the ‘Queen Charlotte’

The pelts of Sea Otters became valuable – each one was worth a small fortune, and was valuable in China

The Sea otter soon became extinct, which provided an opportunity for the Haida to rise in their social standing, but European diseases like Smallpox and Tuberculosis caused mass deaths and the loss of entire villages

There were 7,000 Haida people when the Europeans first made contact. Less than 700 were left after diseases caused mass deaths

Appearance During the summer months the Haida

wore very little clothing, the men would wear strips of cedar bark and the women would wear only cedar bark skirts

In the winter months they would wear goat wool coats, bark capes and spruce root hats for protection from the very rainy weather they get on the west coast

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER TRIBES• Tribes of the Northwest Coast had been

trading with each other for 10,000 years before Europeans arrived

• Their currency was special chilkat “blankets”

• Eulachon oil was a major trade item in that area

• Disagreements between neighbour tribes sometimes caused wars, but tribes in the Northwest gave gifts to settle disagreements most times

• Common causes of war were land, chilkat blankets, copper and slaves

• Had shields, daggers, canoes and masks

A chilkat “blanket”, their currency

A Haida warrior mask

Sourceshttp://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_nwc7.html - wars and tradinghttp://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/firstnations/haida.html - Haida creation storyhttp://www.gohaidagwaii.ca/our-islands/cultural-history/ - historyhttp://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_nwc5.html - religion & spiritualityhttp://www.sfu.ca/archaeology-old/museum/danielle_longhouse/keepers/housing.html -housinghttp://www.angelfire.com/ca/janechaos/haidapaper.html - appearance