The active preservation of cultural heritage at Kitselas Canyon has been of
an interest to the Kitselas Band ever since the rediscovery of the Ringbolt Island
petroglyphs in 1967. The rediscovery of the petroglyphs combined with earlier
ethnographic and archaeological fieldwork in the area confirmed the cultural richness
of the Kitselas Canyon. Beginning in 1968, a series of cooperative initiatives
involving the Kitselas Band with the now called Canadian Museum of Civilization
and the Royal British Columbia Museum produced many successful research projects
in Kitselas Canyon.
There has been a resurgence of interest in Gitselasu culture and art in the
community and amongst the other villages of the Tsimshian First Nation as well.
One key reason for this cultural resurgence is that the federal government no
longer practices a policy of direst assimilation. First Nations people are no
longer restricted from practising cultural activities such as feasting, dancing
and carving.
Another key reason for cultural resurgence is that the Gitselasu as well as
the other communities of the Tsimshian Nation have a sufficient number of cultural
leaders who actively promote the values of Tsimshian language and culture through
feasting, carving and dancing. As more people gain an interest in learning the
language of Sm'algyax, understanding the crest system, conducting of feasts and
making of regalia such as headdresses and blankets as well as totem poles the
stronger the culture becomes. For a culture to survive it requires more of its
people to live that culture including practising its traditions. This is why the
building of the community hall which serves as the feast hall and the carving
shed at Kitselas is important to Gitselasu culture.
One area of focus of Giselasu culture is the promotion and teaching of Sm'algyax.
The Gitselasu have formed a partnership group with the Kitsumkalum called the
Kitselas-Kitsumkalum Language Authority. The role of the Language Authority is
to promote the teaching of language. The value of understanding Sm'algyax for
Tsimshian people is that a language serves to conceptualize ides as well as experience.
The more you can conceptualize the world from one's own culture the better one
can understand that world view.
Another area of focus of Gitselasu culture is the promotion of art. Tsimshian
art as represented in objects such as totem poles, headdresses and blankets is
the visual representation of family stories. Also, Tsimshian art is primarily
crest art. Crest art serves to communicate family prerogatives to won as well
as wear representations of crests at public events such as feasts. The return
to the practice of feasting has also created an interest in the production of
art to be worn at feasts.
Click here to read about the return of the art making
tradition associated with Dempsey Bob, Stan Bevan and Ken McNeil. Photographs
included.
Another area of focus of Gitselasu culture is the promotion of songs and dances.
The Gitselasu have formed their own dance group. The Gitselasu Dancers include
people ranging in age from elders to children. The dancers also require their
own regalia as well as instruments such as drums and rattles. The importance of
songs and dances is that they are re-enactments of village and family stories.
The songs and dances are also important as they form an integral part of feast
celebrations.
Gitselasu contemporary culture as represented in language and art forms such
as carving, singing and dancing in conjunction with the feast system has stimulated
a resurgence of contemporary Gitselasu cultural activity. As more people develop
an interest in Gitselasu culture and as more people practice its traditions the
culture and the community becomes stronger. The value of contemporary Gitselasu
cultural practices is that it creates a coherent unifying identity for the community.