By Radha Agarwal, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Citing a history of cultural faux pas, the Gits’iis Tribe of the Ts’msyen Nation, whose ancestral lands encompass the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre site, is demanding the removal of the three totem poles outside it.
“These poles came [to Prince Rupert]. They had no business being here,” said Guu Gaa Jung (Symbia Barnaby).
Barnaby, founder of Healing Nation Coaching and Consulting and a traditional helper, was tasked by Gits’iis Na’aa Sigidyem Hana’ak [matriarch] to help facilitate discussions with the City of Prince Rupert regarding the totem poles in question.
Barnaby explains that the three poles were uprooted from villages on Haida Gwaii in the 1930s and transported to Prince Rupert (on Ts’msyen territory), where they were erected in places like local parks. The City likely did this to enhance its appeal for settling, tourism, and business ventures.
“The poles are, in a Western sense, considered ‘intellectual property’ that belongs to the Haida People. The figures/crest tell a story connected to that land and the people it belonged to.”
“It is out of place being away from its people or origin. It is out of order to be brought to the city as simply a ‘piece of art’ or ‘interesting artifact.’”
Cultural protocol dictates that totem poles are sacred and belong to the people of the land on which they stand. It is a serious violation for Haida poles to be placed on Gits’iis territory.
After being brought to the city, documentation revealed that for some reason, two Ts’msyen carvers, William Jeffrey and Charles Dudoward, were commissioned to create replicas of the totem poles. As a result, what stands today are copies, not the original Haida poles. There are theories suggesting that the originals had begun to deteriorate, but it remains unsure why the poles were replicated and what precisely happened to the originals.
Nevertheless, replicating another nation’s cultural symbols, which are deeply tied to their history and spiritual beliefs, is also a cultural violation.
After Barnaby’s year of research, drawing on the wealth of knowledge from Indigenous knowledge keepers, government and museum archives, master carvers, and the insights of Ts’msyen and Haida elders, the findings attribute this oversight to the municipal government in the 1930s. Other stakeholders in Prince Rupert included the Board of Trade and the Grand Trunk Railway, which later became CN Rail. She also uncovered connections of the replicas to the Royal BC Museum, which had commissioned the two carvers to recreate them.
Consultation
The Gits’iis, as the hereditary occupants of their traditional land, began researching the three totem poles in late March of last year. However, when they reached out to the City of Prince Rupert to discuss the matter, they were asked to pause their efforts while the City consulted with the band council governments of Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla instead.
Gits’iis emphasize that, culturally, they are the rightful people to consult and handle the work on these poles. As the hereditary family of the land, they argue that the governance of the territory belonged to them from time immemorial. The federal government only established the band councils under the Indian Act in 1876.
“Poles belong to lineages, specifically the people whose territory it is on. It doesn’t belong to band council,” said Barnaby.
“Culturally relevant items do not belong to a government, they belong to the people, or to a society. They belong to people hereditarily through bloodlines.”
Barnaby urges the City to formally acknowledge its role in the historical missteps and to work directly with the Gits’iis as the rightful governing body over the land.
While the Gits’iis are willing to contribute cultural and ceremonial resources, she urges the City to allocate funds for the pole-removal project, including costs for using equipment like cranes. The tribe also seeks access to grants through the municipality to support this effort.
Veronika Stewart, the City’s communications officer, confirmed that, as requested, the City Council has since appointed a staff member to work with the Gits’iis group on the issue of the poles. The staff met with the Gits’iis on April 3 to explore further options, but the City has not yet made a decision.
“There’s a cultural timeline, that may not coincide all the time with the colonial timeline,” said Barnaby. For the matriarch’s family, the culturally significant time to take action is June. The Gits’iis request that the poles be removed by then.
“It’s also their protected right to do their cultural duties and ceremonies and spiritual practices. There are cultural teachings that they abide by, that if they don’t follow, they can become sick, spiritually. And this is part of what we’re trying to heal from.”
Links of Interest:
Top image credit: Three Haida totem poles stand outside the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre in Prince Rupert. – Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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