Lax Kwʼalaams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lax Kwʼalaams
District municipality
Lax Kwʼalaams backdropped by Mount McNeil of the Kitimat Ranges
Lax Kwʼalaams Location in British Columbia
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional district	North Coast
Established	1834
Area
• Total	109.3 km2 (42.2 sq mi)
Population  (2016)
• Total	646
• Density	5.910/km2 (15.308/sq mi)

Lax-Kwʼalaams (pronounced lah-kwuh-LAHMS) is an Indigenous village community in British Columbia, Canada. It is located near the city of Prince Rupert. The community is part of the Port Simpson Indian Reserve No. 1. This reserve is shared with other communities of the Tsimshian Nation. The Nine Allied Tribes who share this area are: Gilutsʼaaw, Ginadoiks, Ginaxangiik, Gispaxloʼots, Gitando, Gitlaan, Gitsʼiis, Gitwilgyoots, and Gitzaxłaał.

Discovering the History of Lax-Kwʼalaams

Lax-Kwʼalaams gets its name from Laxłguʼalaams. This old name means "place of the wild roses." It was once a camping spot for the Gispaxloʼots tribe.

How Fort Simpson Was Established

In 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) built a trading post here. They called it Fort Simpson. Later, it became known as Port Simpson. The fort was named after Captain Aemilius Simpson. He was in charge of the HBC's ships. The HBC built this fort to compete with American traders. They wanted to control the fur trade along the Pacific Coast.

The first leader of Fort Simpson was Dr. John Frederick Kennedy. He married the daughter of Chief Ligeex of the Gispaxloʼots. This marriage helped create a good relationship between the HBC and the Gispaxloʼots people. Dr. Kennedy worked at Fort Simpson until 1856.

Changes with Missionaries and New Beliefs

In 1857, a missionary named William Duncan brought Christianity to Lax Kwʼalaams. He felt the fort area was not good for his Tsimshian followers. So, he moved with over 800 people to Metlakatla. Later, they moved to Annette Island, Alaska. There, he received permission from the U.S. Congress to create an Indian reservation.

Lax Kwʼalaams did not have missionaries again until 1874. That's when Reverend Thomas Crosby of the Methodist church arrived. Today, the community is still mostly Methodist. Reverend Crosby's wife, Emma Crosby, started the Crosby Girls' Home in the 1880s. This home became part of British Columbia's Indian residential school system in 1893. It operated until 1948.

Important Organizations and Population Growth

In 1931, the Native Brotherhood of British Columbia was started in Port Simpson. It was the first organization run by Indigenous people in the province. Four people founded it, including Tsimshian expert William Beynon and hereditary Chief William Jeffrey.

In 1857, William Duncan estimated the population of Lax Kwʼalaams was 2,300 people. They lived in 140 houses. About 500 people died shortly after Duncan left due to the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic. Today, Lax Kwʼalaams is the largest of the seven Tsimshian village communities in Canada. In 1983, its population was 882. As of 2009, the Lax-kwʼalaams First Nation has 3,219 members. In 2011, there were 678 people living on the reserve. There are about 10,000 Tsimshian people in British Columbia. They are the most numerous Indigenous people in the province.

Understanding Governance and Family Lines

The Allied Tsimshian Tribes Association represents the legal and political interests of the Lax Kwʼalaams people. This group represents the hereditary chiefs of the Nine Tribes. The Tsimshian people have a matrilineal kinship system. This means that property and family lines are passed down through the mother's side of the family. Hereditary chiefs also come from these maternal lines.

In November 2016, a study was published in Nature Communications. It connected the DNA of 25 Indigenous people who lived near modern-day Prince Rupert, British Columbia long ago. These ancient people lived there between 1,000 and 6,000 years ago. The study linked their DNA to their descendants in the Lax-Kwʼalaams community today.

Port Simpson was renamed Lax Kwʼalaams in 1986. It was named after Captain Aemilius Simpson, who was a distant relative of Sir George Simpson.

Images for kids

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  Fort Simpson in 1857

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  Old Hudson's Bay Co. trading post, early 1900s

Notable Residents

• Frederick Alexcee, artist
• William Beynon, hereditary chief and ethnologist
• Alfred Dudoward, hereditary chief
• Bill Helin, artist
• Chief William Jeffrey, hereditary chief, carver and activist
• Odille Morison, linguist and artifact collector
• Rev. William Henry Pierce, missionary and memoirist
• Terry Starr, artist
• Henry W. Tate, oral historian
• Arthur Wellington Clah, hereditary chief and diarist