Rebbeca sends an electronic gift

Gitxsan means people of the Skeena River

Howdy family:

I am just attaching a file for the files:    

I am working on a Gitxsan Human Rights Project this next year (on Gender and Human Rights INSIDE Indigenous Law), and have just spent the last couple of days reading Gitxsan stories.

The Gitxsan are the people at the centre of the Delgamuukw case 

It is the case that people talk about as having ’turned the tide’ in how the courts and govts have had to deal with Indigenous Law.    It is not a huge community, but they have had a major impact on the law in Canada.   My. Colleague Val Napoleon worked there for 20 years [was adopted in] before going to law school.  

Here is a link to the Gitxsan webpage if you want to root around with more history on them. . It is up in Northern BC in the area around Smithers, Hazelton, etc.   

Anyways, just in case any of you are looking for a bank of stories to tell to your kids, or to work with, there are lots in M.J. Smith's Dissertation. which is entitled Placing Gitxsan Stories in Text: Returning the Feathers: Guusx Mak' Am Mik' Aax.

The Gitxsan version of the Mosquito Story is on pp. 91-93.  Since we have been thinking about the Mosquito story in conjunction with the LaRue case, I thought you might enjoy thinking through/with the story.  

The Blue Jay origin story (p. 88) is also suitably interesting/creepy (and fun if you live in blue jay territory!)

At some point, we will probably produce a casebook with brief for these stories (like with the Secwepemc Land and Resource one).  But… for now, here is a resource of stories in case you end up wanting to play with some stories.

Xoxox and Merry Christmas to you all!

Rebecca