The Haida are native North Americans that live in the northern parts of British Columbia in the Queen Charlotte Islands. In early times, the Haida resided throughout the entire chain of these islands. Most of the southern islands have a very rocky and towering landscape. The largest southern island is Moresby. The largest northern island, named Graham Island, has a landscape that ranges from mountains in the west to a smoother, yet rocky land in the east. Today most of the Haida inhabit this island. They are also found in the southern part of Prince of Wales Island in Alaska.
The Haida belong in one of two clans, the raven or eagle clan. The choice of clan was done maternally at birth. Marriage among the Haida has to consist of a person from each clan. The clans are then subdivided into local groups that occupied villages. Each village waged war and maintained peace among other villages and tribes. Potlatches are a ceremony held by the Haida. They use this to confirm political or social status. They also use it for other events like house building, totem pole raising, or funerals. People of the Haida culture don't achieve higher social status by giving potlatches themselves, but by the ones given by their parents.
Haida are known for their canoes. They are made from red cedar trunks. Chieftains of other nations prized them so much due to the high level of craftsmanship used in making them. Canoe makers worked on the canoes in the autumn when they could find the best red cedar trees. Once enough snow fell, the trees would be hauled from the forest to the village where they would be finished. Haida villagers would take the finished canoes to the mainland where they would be traded for goods and older canoes for the journey back. Visiting sea captains showed the Haida how to use sails. From then on, they fitted their canoes with two or three masts and sails made of bark mats and canvas. The Haida are also very artistic people. They create totem poles depicting historical family events and to show their family crest. The houses of the Haida are also decorated with their art.
These people built their villages along calm and sheltered beaches and inlets. They did this to protect themselves from the strong winter storms that occur along the pacific coast. In addition, they built their villages to support their food needs. Their diet consisted of fish and sea animals due to their close proximity to the ocean. They ate salmon, halibut, black cod, and shellfish. Salmon is the basic food of the people. They travel to streams and rivers every other year to fish for salmon. All of the Haida had access to halibut fishing areas. Shellfish was found along the shorelines and beaches close to where they lived. Black cod was the staple food for villages on the west coast. For some of the other items they needed they would travel to the mainland. They would fish for eulachon in the runs along the Nass River. The Haida would trade for materials that could not be found on their islands.
Houses of the Haida are the center of political, social, and economic activity in the villages. The villages were constructed with homes in one or two rows along the beaches. The largest of the homes were located in the middle and were the dwelling to the village chief . Haida homes are very well constructed. They used many different tools to construct their homes including sledgehammers, adzes, hand mauls, and wedges. The wood used to build their homes came from western red cedar. Corner posts that supported large beams made up the framework. Large planks covered the houses. They believed that the idea on how to build their style of house was brought to them by the raven. They thought of a home as the body of their ancestors. Each of the corner posts depicted the arms or legs of the body. The rafters were the ribs and the long horizontal beams were the backbone. The planks that cover the outside of the house make up the skin of the body.
Houses were usually built in two styles. The first is a small house that measured twenty by thirty feet. The second was a larger home that measured fifty by sixty feet. The smaller house style was home to thirty to forty closely related people. In the larger house style, the number of people living in it was usually doubled. Each home had a pit in the center of the home. The roofs of the houses differed by rank. High-ranking people in the village had very good roofs that would last. Poor people of lower rank had a roof made of bark that needs to be replaced often.
Most of the Haida have left their island homes and moved to the mainland. There they are employed in the fishing, canning, and logging industries. In 1990 there were close to 2,000 Haida living in the United States and another 2,000 living in parts of Canada
Sources:
"Haida" Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0822358.html March 6, 2001.
"Haida" Britannica.com http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/7/0,5716,39597+38802,00.html?query=haida March 6, 2001.
"The Haida, Children of Eagle and Raven" CMCC (November 30, 1998) http://www.civilization.ca/membrs/fph/haida/haindexe.html#menu March 6,2001.
Written by Clint Warriner