Haíɫzaqv
Selected features from the Northwest Coast Hall.
The Haíłzaqv people have lived on the central coast of British Columbia in and around Wágḷísḷa (Bella Bella) since time began. We have an inalienable connection to the land and waters of our territory. This relationship extends from our Nation’s past, shaping both our present and future.
WELCOME TO THE NATION: HAÍŁZAQV
[Chief Wígviłba Wákas | Harvey Humchitt speaks to camera]
CHIEF WÍGVŁBA WÁKAS | HARVEY HUMCHITT (Consulting Curator): Yáu. My name is Chief Wígviłba Wákas, and I would like to welcome you to the exhibit of the Haíłzaqv Nation.
Haíłzaqvḷa
Haíłzaqvḷa is the language of the Haíłzaqv nation. Learn some common words and phrases.
Las h̓íxst̓áukva | Are you well?
h̓ík | good/well/fine/okay
ɫál̓asanúgva | I am tired
dásḷṇ́txv | We are diving into the water.
mámíʔanugva | I am fishing.
Speakers: Marina Humchitt, Shirley Windsor; Recorded by: Ǧvu̓í Rory Housty
Haíłzaqv Constitution and Conservation
Learn more about the Haíłzaqv Constitution, which has been developed for Haíłzaqv, by Haíłzaqv.
Gviḷásdṃalas Haíɫzaqv: Building Our Constitution
[Aerial shots of forested islands in a blue sea, a coastal village with boats
[OCEAN BREEZE, GULLS CRYING]
[HAÍŁZAQV DRUMS, SINGING]
[An imposing wooden Big House painted with blue, red, and black designs.]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Gviḷásdṃalas Haíɫzaqv / Building Our Constitution]
[People of all ages stand in front of the Big House, most wearing regalia, including capes and headdresses.]
WOMAN: We are in front of Gvúkva'áus Haíłzaqv–"House of the Heiltsuk."
[Young people dance in a large space while onlookers watch from bleacher-type seating.]
WOMAN: That means we all come together—one heart, one mind.
[Various views of carved and painted poles depicting animals and people.]
MAN: These totem poles that are standing in here— four of them—they're the ones that tell the story of who we are, where we came from, where we're going.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: The Big House: A Foundation for Our Constitution]
[William Housty speaks in an interview setting.]
WILLIAM HOUSTY: The Heiltsuk people have been governing our territory since time immemorial, when Yím̓áskasau, the Great Chief Above, placed our first ancestors all throughout the territory.
[Aerial view of a forest.]
HOUSTY: They were instilled the responsibility to manage and take care of and to govern our territory, including the ocean.
[Inside the Big House, dancers blow eagle down into the air.]
HOUSTY: These responsibilities also included the development of Ǧvi̓ĺás and ɫáxvái, which are the customary laws and the authority over our territory. Our first ancestors developed these laws and authority in the λiác̓I, in the Big House.
[Hundreds of people sit on tiered seating surrounding a large open space containing a large, roaring fire.]
HOUSTY: Now, we are able to use this venue and use the meaning behind this building, take all the words that are spoken through the Potlatch system, through the feasts... Wrapping that into the constitution is carrying on the legacy of the great work that was started by our first ancestors.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Our Gvilas, Put On Paper]
[Archival photo of men hauling in fishing nets.]
MEGAN HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: This constitution, our ancestors would be proud of… [Elders sit in the Big House]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: …because it's something that has come from community…
[Humchitt | Yáláƛí speaks in an interview setting.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: …and from our teachings that have been passed down throughout generations, through the Potlatch system.
[Chris Lechkobit Carpenter speaks in an interview setting.]
CHRIS LECHKOBIT CARPENTER: It's putting into practice the forms of government and governance that we've had for thousands and thousands of years.
[Chief Marilyn Slett speaks in an interview setting.]
CHIEF MARILYN SLETT: The constitution, for me, is a reclamation of our Heiltsuk governance.
[Hundreds of people sit inside the Big House on stands surrounding a large fire in the open space.]
CHIEF SLETT: It's an exercise of decolonization—putting out there for the world our Heiltsuk laws and our Heiltsuk constitution.
[Gary Housty | Náći speaks in an interview setting.]
GARY HOUSTY | NÁĆI: Our constitution has always been there, written in stone.
[Dancers in regalia dance around a large fire in the Big House.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: Our principles, our rules of conduct, behavior…
[The camera pans over baskets, hats, and other items of clothing, woven from plant material.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: …morals and values, responsibilities and roles define how we govern ourselves.
[A dancer’s feet on the dirt floor of the Big House.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: It helps us to maintain our health and balance of our natural world.
[A dancer in the Big House performs a large and elaborate mask depicting a killer whale with a bird on top.]
[Carpenter speaks in an interview setting.]
CARPENTER: This constitution is really putting those ways and that vision and identity down on paper.
[A young woman speaks in an outdoor interview setting.]
ASTRID WILSON: We are taking our Ǧvi̓ĺás…
[A dozen people walk in regalia.]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Heiltsuk Justice Circle for Nathan E. Stewart Oil Spill Sentencing]
[People lay down tree branches and large coppers in a circle on the floor of a room.]
ASTRID WILSON: …and we are putting it into the constitution to make it a consistent way of dealing with business on our territory and our reserve.
[Some 20 people seated in a circle in a large room. One person stands at a podium with a microphone.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: The constitution gives us freedom from the colonial system.
[A woman dances in the Big House.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: The government doesn't understand oral laws, doesn't understand our Ǧvi̓ĺás.
[A woman and man touch a large post in the midst of the carving process.]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Hon. Carolyn Bennett / Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: They don't understand what it means to be Heiltsuk.
[Bennett speaks to a man in a button-decorated shirt. She, along with Harvey Humchitt and Chief Marilyn Slett, sign documents and shake hands.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: So, we have to show them who we are on paper. That allows us an equal seat at the table with government.
[Chief Marilyn Slett, Bennett, Harvey Humchitt, and others hold copies of the constitution and dance.]
CARPENTER: That is affirming our inherent Right and Title, our jurisdiction, our sovereignty.
[Aerial view of forested islands in a turquoise and deep blue ocean.]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: The Constitution and Conservation]
WILSON: This constitution will benefit the safety of our homelands because…
[A woman looks out through a boat window with binoculars.]
WILSON: …we will know who is working out on our territory, what they will be doing…
[A flag flying on the boat reads, “Coastal Guardian Watchmen.” A man in tall rubber boots strides across a beach.]
WILSON: …who they will be sharing their information with—what they're seeing out on the territory.
[Housty | Náći speaks in an interview setting.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: When I was young, my brother and I were sent out by my father…
[Fishing boats around the shore and dock. Hands lift large hemlock branches from a boat and place them in the water.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: …to go out and set hemlock trees and kelp for food. There were so many areas where it would spawn.
[Hands pull up a large strand of kelp.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: Now we don't have that.
[Aerial view of waters and coastline with a few fishing boats and nets.]
[Aerial view of costal lands with place names indicated.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: All these major areas have been ruined—Cape Mark, Thompson Bay, Striker Bay, Spider Island...
[Aerial view of fishing boat.]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: 2015 Seine Fishery]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: They took the very last herring out…
[Underwater camera shows fish in net being pulled up.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: …and now it's having a hard time in what I call the rebuilding process.
[Large school of herring and close-ups of herring roe on hemlock branches.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: After looking after it and allowing it to rebuild, we could, once again, share it with anyone else.
[People on fishing boats.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: But up until then, we're keeping it closed.
[Young people on a front porch hold paddles with writing and designs on them.]
[Branches holding clusters of herring roe are pulled out of the water.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: I'm not saying that it's all ours—it isn't.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Sustainable Heiltsuk Herring Roe Fishery]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: But we take care of it so that we could share it one day.
[People stand in a circle around a large fire inside the Big House.]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: By Heiltsuk, For Heiltsuk]
CHIEF SLETT: The constitution is by and for Heiltsuk and we are so proud of everyone who has taken part in the process.
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: We've focused on community engagement—both in-community and off-reserve…
[Large group of people singing and drumming in the Big House.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: …because community voice is so important for the constitution.
CARPENTER: We've consulted through open houses within our community and our membership outside of Bella Bella and urban areas.
[Photograph of community gathering. People sit at round tables in a hotel conference room setting.]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Off-Reserve Consultation – Vancouver]
[Signs of Bella Bella Community School and Heiltsuk Kaxla Society.]
CARPENTER: We've also gone to community organizations and entities, such as the School Board, Kaxla and Yím̓ás, or the staff at HTC Admin.
[Large group of people seated in the Big House.]
CARPENTER: This constitution is being authored by our own people, because we are listening to everything that we hear,
[Small groups of people talking together inside the Big House.]
CARPENTER: …we're taking it seriously and we're finding ways to put it into the constitution.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: What Does the Constitution Do?]
[Aerial footage of Bella Bella buildings, including the Big House.]
CARPENTER: It describes our vision for who we are as a people and our place in the world. It also describes how we endeavor to govern ourselves;
[A man carrying a young child on his shoulders in front of the Big House. Elders and others in regalia—button cloaks and elaborate headdresses.]
CARPENTER: …how we dream about going forward into the future, uniting that vision of our Heiltsukness and our place in the world along with our contemporary governance.
[Dancers perform in the Big House.]
CHIEF SLETT: With input and feedback from our membership, our constitution is a living document and it will include our Heiltsuk creation stories, Ǧvi̓ĺás, homeland maps, membership rights, freedoms, and responsibilities, lawmaking authorities, governance structure and process, financial law, code of conduct, and the amendment process.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Creation Stories]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Gvilas]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Homeland Maps]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Lawmaking Authorities]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Governance Structure and Process]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Financial Law]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Code of Conduct]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Amendment Process]
CHIEF SLETT: The constitution is not a treaty, nor is it land claims. It is a completely different process of navigating self-governance and self-determination.
[Flag and carved post inside the Big House. Aerial footage of the coastal forest.]
CHIEF SLETT: It will not affect our status, identity or benefits. We are not modifying, ceding,
[People pull kelp lines up into fishing boat.]
CHIEF SLETT: …nor extinguishing our Rights and Title. Passing this constitution into force…
[Chief Slett speaks to a group.]
CHIEF SLETT: …means we have made concrete and permanent our way of governance.
[Various shots: A group in regalia stand outside in front of a fire. Three people stand in front of a large tree. A fishing boat. A masked dancer in the Big House. Sign for the Waglisla Band Store. An administrative building. Chief Slett speaks with an official. Exterior of the R. W. Large Memorial Hospital. Dancers around a fire in the Big House.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: Our constitution gives us authority and jurisdiction over land, resources, culture, finances, education, justice, health, and all aspects of our Heiltsuk world. It describes who we are and where we come from.
[A group of people in regalia sit at a long table. A younger woman hugs an Elder. Two Bald Eagles stand on a shoreline.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: It outlines our governance system. It describes how we take care of each other and our natural world.
[A dancer shakes a rattle.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: It documents our inherited legacy for fourteen thousand-plus years. It describes our lawmaking process.
[Harvey Humchitt speaks with a couple of people.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: It describes our self-determination.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Self-Governance and Self-Determination]
CHIEF SLETT: The constitution, for me, is a reclamation of our Heiltsuk governance and it ties together everything that we've been doing with our Heiltsuk Women's Declaration,
[Sign displaying the Declaration of Heiltsuk Title & Rights]
CHIEF SLETT: …our Heiltsuk Declaration of our Title and Rights, our work in Reconciliation.
[Chief Slett speaks to a group in a professional setting.]
[A man in sunglasses and a ball cap walks along the shoreline.]
CARPENTER: It reflects things like our co-management agreements around resources.
[A boat speeds through the waves. Boats surround a half-submerged vessel. The words “Nathan Stewart, New York NY” can be seen on its submerged stern.]
CARPENTER: The way we've described our Ǧvi̓ĺás around, say, the Nathan E. Stewart... Our protocol agreement between Yím̓ás and Tribal Council.
[Housty and Harvey Humchitt in regalia speak with a woman. They are surrounded by protestors holding signs like “Haiłzakv land, Haiłzakv law.”]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: 2015 DFO Occupation Over Herring Fishery]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: We had issues with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and I think working together with that protocol agreement made it much more powerful.
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: And, so, there's a space in that constitution for a Yím̓ás Council,
[Elders in regalia sit in a row in the Big House. A large group of women, many in button-decorated robes and woven hats face the camera. Chief Slett, Humchitt | Yálaλi, and other women dance.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: …for a Matriarch Council, and for elected leadership to come together and to have discussion and make decisions together.
[Hundreds of people surround dancers inside the Big House.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: And we're also accountable to the people, where we are engaging with people and the people's assembly and making sure that all of those conversations are done collaboratively.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Our Children, Our Future]
[Four children sing and drum near a fire in the Big House.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: As a longtime fisherman…
[Housty | Náći steers a boat carrying hemlock branches. He and two younger people pull up seaweed, look over the side of the boat, and pull out herring roe.]
HOUSTY | NÁĆI: …I always wanted to take young people out so that they could watch what we do because, one day, they're going to have to do it too.
[Astrid Wilson stands in front of the paintings on the front of the Big House.]
WILSON: I was gifted the opportunity to be able to help paint this beautiful design by Larry Campbell.
[Wilson and artist Larry Campbell stand on a scaffolding on the side of the Big House, talking and laughing.]
WILSON: It's just something that makes me feel so emotional because it gave me a kickstart to my artist career and passion.
[Young people sing and dance in the Big House.]
WILSON: They say that children come first—you uplift your children. They were the first dancers to set foot out there because they that say that the children are the treasures of the community because they are going to be the future leaders.
[Drummers, dancers, and singers in the Big House.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: It all comes from the history that is within every single Heiltsuk person, wherever they live.
[Groups of people gathered together, laughing and talking.]
HUMCHITT | YÁLÁƛI: Our constitution is something that our nation should be proud of and celebrate because it's about all of us.
[Spectators in the Big House clap and cheer.]
[HEILTSUK YOUTH SINGERS SINGING]
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: KÁXḶÁYA ǦVI̓ĹÁS: Upholding the laws of our ancestors for Haíłzaqv, by Haíłzaqv]
[CREDITS:
Directed and Edited by Damien Gillis
Written by Pauline Waterfall and Chris Lechkobit Carpenter
Additional footage by: Vince Arvidson for Heiltsuk First Nation, Ian McAllister/Pacific Wild, Daniel Pierce, Samuel Goncalves for Heiltsuk First Nation, Grant Baldwin – Coastal First Nations/QQS Projects Society, Jeremy Williams for Heiltsuk First Nation
Maps: Kevn Starr/HIRMD
Historical Photograph: T.S. “Sam” Johnson/HIRMD
Music: Heiltsuk Singers
Recorded and Mixed by Edo Van Breemen
With music courtesy of Edo Van Breemen/Transatlantic Film Orchestra
And music by Creative Commons license: Chris Zabriskie – “Cylinder Three”, Kai Engel – “Seeker”, Kai Engel – “Aspirato”, Krackatoa – “Bedford Grove”, Kai Engel – “Brooks”
Creative Commons sound effects courtesy of: Anton, Alexir, CGEFFEX, Tilano 408, Martini Meniscus, Wesc Wave, JS Barrett, Sounds Like Willem, Godowan, Hisoul, Fallujah QC, Martin Sadoux, Deep Purple 5, Felix Blume, Klank Beeld, Film MT
Thank you to
Constitution Committee Members:
Arnold Humchitt
Earl Newman
Constance Tallio
Megan Humchitt
Louisa Jones
Reg Moody-Humchitt
George Young
Robyn Humchitt
Steven Hall
Kelly McKay
Project Supervisors
Marilyn Slett
Kelly Brown
Project Staff:
Saul Brown
Desiree Lawson
Hailcistut Team:
Turza Lawson
Nicole Carpenter
Sheldon Tetrault
John Watson
West Coast Environmental Law
Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department
Heiltsuk Tribal Council
Mn’uyaqs Coucil
Heiltsuk Hemas
Heiltsuk Youth
Community Organizations Who Hosted Constitution Consultations:
Heiltsuk Tribal Council Administrative Staff and Departments
Heiltsuk Economic Development Corporation
Bella Bella School Board
Bella Bella Community School Staff
Heiltsuk College
Kaxla Child and Family Services
Heiltsuk Cultural Centre
Language Advisory Committee
Heiltsuk Elders Centre
Our Nation Members outside of Bella Bella who took part in engagement sessions, mail outs, and individual consultations
Daniel Conrad for editing support
Presented by Pauline Waterfall and Chris Lechkobit Carpenter, Constitution Advisers]
Grizzly Bear and Human Links
In 2006, the Haíłzaqv people partnered with the Museum and The Nature Conservancy to implement a grizzly bear survey project with a unique dimension.
From the outset, the study was designed to uphold the Haíłzaqv nation’s Gvi’ilas, or customary law, a set of guiding principles that frame a worldview focused on core values.
Using non-invasive DNA analysis, the authors described a grizzly bear “highway,” identifying nearly 60 individual bears, many who traveled hundreds of miles from surrounding areas to feed on autumn-spawning salmon in the Koeye River.
The Koeye River Conservancy is one of numerous protected areas designated by the Haíłzaqv First Nation in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia in 2009. The Haíłzaqv people settled in this area more than 9,000 years ago and are now reasserting their rights as guardians of the Koeye River.
Grizzly Monitoring In Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: Grizzly Monitoring in Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest]
[ON-SCREEN GRAPHICS: The Nature Conservancy logo]
[William Housty sits in a green forest.]
WILLIAM HOUSTY (Head of the Coastwatch Grizzly Monitoring Project of the Heiltsuk First Nation): My name is William Housty and I'm from Bella Bella and I work for an organization called Qqs. and one of the branches of Qqs is Coastwatch.
[A single boat motors out into a beautiful river surrounded by trees and mountains.]
HOUSTY: Here out of the Koeye River.
[A photograph of a grizzly bear poking its head out of the river.]
HOUSTY: In 2006, we started a pilot project and we put out these grizzly snares made out of barbed wire.
[Housty holds up a line of barbed wire.]
HOUSTY: These barbs are considered to be a sample. So when the bear either goes underneath the snare or goes over top of the snare…
[Close-up photo of grizzly bear hairs caught in the barbed wire knot.]
HOUSTY: …these barbs catch onto the hair and we collect the hair samples off the barbs and they go in for DNA analysis.
[Housty inspects the barbed wire for hair. Tweezers hold a few strands of hair and they’re put into an envelope.]
HOUSTY: And from there, we're able to do such things as estimate the bear population in the watershed,
[A wet bear wanders through the landscape.]
HOUSTY: …make family trees of siblings and parents and which cubs are related.
[Housty prepares a bait pile by kicking some forest floor debris together into a pile.]
HOUSTY: And we attract them into the snares with our little bait pile, which is a combination of salmon oil, skunk essence, beaver castor, and a little bit of a loganberry.
[Housty tests the strength of the barbed wire line.]
HOUSTY: So it's a nice stinky little bear cocktail that attracts the bears to, to leave their feeding areas and to come in and check that out.
[Photo of Housty holding up a single strand of grizzly bear fur.]
HOUSTY: And while they're doing that they deposit some hair onto our snares. So it's important for us to know whether the grizzly populations are healthy because that is an indicator for how healthy our watershed is.
[Cedar trees rise up from the rocky coast of an island. A mountain stands in the background.]
[Image of a bear holding a fish in its mouth.]
HOUSTY: From our DNA analysis we've identified 60 plus individuals.
[A grizzly bear in the river eats a salmon.]
HOUSTY: So that means that we've had bears that are probably not only local to the Koeye watershed, but also bears from other neighboring watersheds that come in on a low salmon year and take advantage of the Koeye's run.
[A bear looks out from a thick forest on the river’s shoreline.]
HOUSTY: By us being able to, to prove and say that, “This is grizzly habitat. We do have 60 grizzlies,” is going to give us a great voice in protecting this grizzly bear population.
[Housty sits in the forest.]
HOUSTY: All those years of hearing my grandfather say that it was the ocean and the forest that sustained us,
[Waves lap against a rocky coastline.]
HOUSTY: …I never really appreciated it until I started coming here and watching it all happen and being in the middle of it. And it's really humbling.
[Housty walks through the forest.]
HOUSTY: I have every intention of passing on the same knowledge and experience to my one-and-a-half-year-old son. Hoping that one day he'll have that same appreciation for what we've all been working to protect here.
[ON-SCREEN TEXT: The Nature Conservancy continues to provide financial and technical support to William’s Coastwatch Grizzly Monitoring Project, an initiative of the Heiltsuk First Nation.]
More recently, a 2021 publication with some of the same authors demonstrated the interdependence of humans, ecosystems, and animals. Their genetic analysis identified three genetically distinct populations of grizzly bears whose geographies corresponded to similar areas of three Indigenous language families.
Their findings suggest that “the pattern of genetic grouping may be more linked to what the landscape can provide in resources than what it can limit in resistance,” like hard-to-traverse landscapes or large waterways said co-authors Lauren Henson and Jennifer Walkus. “Bears and people both learn from their ancestors what to eat and where.”
What appealed to us was the opportunity to root science in strong cultural stewardship frameworks. We articulate specific Haíłzaqv laws and customs related to respect and reciprocity and match them with scientific tools and knowledge to put those principles in action.
—Dúqva̓ísḷa | William Housty,
Haíłzaqv Integrated Resource Management Department
Herring Roe Fishery
Herring roe, or eggs, are a traditional Northwest Coast food traded widely along the coast.
In the spring, Pacific herring make their way from the ocean to sheltered bays and estuaries to spawn (lay their eggs). This beginning of the harvesting season, or bákvḷá, marks the beginning of a new life cycle, similar to a “new year” for the Haíłzaqv people. Unlike salmon, the adult herring return to the ocean after spawning and can complete this cycle several times.
Large-scale commercial fishing caused herring populations to crash. Under pressure from the Haíłzaqv nation, in 2016 the Canadian government barred commercial herring boats in Spiller Channel and other areas, giving the herring a chance to rebound. Learn more about the harvesting process in the slideshow below.
Carving and Painting
Haíłzaqv people painted and carved unique ceremony and dance regalia, as well as utensils and canoes, as part of their everyday culture. Recognized for their superior quality, many of these items moved throughout the Northwest Coast via direct trade, dowries, potlatching, and warfare.
Before the time of humans, Haíłzaqv history tells of a supernatural eagle with a human face, like the mask above trimmed in bird skin and feathers. Spotting a whale in the ocean, the eagle seized it for a meal. During the struggle, the whale’s intestines spilled into the ocean, becoming Yáláƛi, or Goose Island. The eagle shed its feathers, and decided to live on the island, transforming into a human and taking the name Wígviłba, or Eagle Nose. Haíłzaqv hereditary chief Harvey Humchitt, Sr. carries the name today.
Ǧálúǧṃɫ | Crooked Beak mask Worn on a dancer’s forehead at an upward angle, this ornate mask represents a supernatural bird servant from the Tánís ceremony, or Cannibal Dance. Using its hooked beak to crush skulls, the bird spirit hunts humans to feed to the Cannibal Spirit, Báxvbakvalan̓usiwa.
AMNH Anthropology catalog 16/602
AMNH Anthropology catalog 16/602
The Great Canoe
Hewn from a single Western red cedar tree in the 19th century, the iconic 63-foot long Great Canoe is one of the largest dugout canoes in existence. Evidence links this extraordinary canoe to both Haíłzaqv and Haida Nations.
One of the things that is really important for the Haíłzaqv people is the canoe. The ocean was our highway and the ocean provided for us.
—Chief Wígvíɫba Wákas | Harvey Humchitt, Sr.
For more information on the Great Canoe, visit our exhibit page.