Haida
Indians Yesterday And Today
By: Kevin K
The Haida have been around for nine to ten thousand years. They live off the coast of British Columbia on the Queen Charlotte Islands and in Southern Alaska. There are 3,500 Haidas living today. In 1980 the Haidas formed the Council of the Haidas Nation. These included the joining of the Masset and Skidgate bands. The Masset band has twenty six villages and fishing sites. The Masset band owns 2,214 acres. The Skidgate band owns eleven villages and fishing sites which total 1,677 acres.
The Haida families either belonged to
the Raven group or the Eagle group. There
are 22 Raven families and 23 Eagle families which were also called clans.
Each Eagle and Raven clan
had it’s own crest. These crests were often carved on totem poles.
The totem pole told the history of each clan. About 70 crest figures have been used in the past, but today they use fewer than 20. Some of the crests include a Killer Whale, Beaver, Wolf, Frog, Star Fish, Hawk and Horned Owl. Each family lived in cedar plank houses 20 to 60 feet long with their family totem poles located in front of the house.
To make a living the Haidas work
in tourism, wood manufacturing, arts and crafts.
They still work in fishing and logging, but these are declining because
of environmental restrictions. They are known around the world for their
sculptures, totem poles, painting and carving.
They carve in wood, metal, slate and animal horns.