Ligeex facts for kids

Ligeex is a special name and title passed down through families in the Gispaxlo'ots tribe. This tribe is part of the Tsimshian First Nation, and they come from the village of Lax Kw'alaams in British Columbia, Canada. The name Ligeex, and the important role of chief it represents, is passed down from mothers to their children within a special family group called the House of Ligeex. This family belongs to the Laxsgiik (Eagle clan).

History of the Ligeex Chiefs

Ligeex was traditionally seen as the most powerful Tsimshian chief. When Europeans first arrived, Ligeex controlled trade with people living along the Skeena River. He made sure this trade was protected, sometimes by asking for payments or even by going to war. However, his power slowly became weaker as the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) grew stronger through the Fur trade in the 1800s.

The Meaning and Origin of the Name

The name Ligeex is believed to come from the Heiltsuk language and means "Stone Cliff." Stories say that the House of Ligeex started from another Gispaxlo'ots Eagle clan family, the House of Nis'wa'maķ. This family came from areas in what is now Alaska, which was Tlingit territory.

How the Ligeex Name Began

A woman from the House of Nis'wa'maķ was once taken by a Haisla chief from Kitimat. Later, she was taken again by a Heiltsuk chief from Bella Bella, who married her. She had a son with him, and this son inherited the name Ligeex from his father. When the woman and her son were allowed to return to the Gispaxlo'ots, her son kept the name "Ligeex." Over time, this name was passed down through the family's mothers and became the title for their hereditary chief.

Important Marriages and Alliances

One Ligeex chief married his daughter, Sudaał, to Dr. John Frederick Kennedy of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1832. This marriage was a diplomatic arrangement. It helped the HBC set up their Fort Simpson (also known as Port Simpson) in 1834. This fort was built in Ligeex's territory at Lax Kw'alaams.

Famous Ligeex Chiefs

Some of the most well-known people to hold the name Ligeex were a series of chiefs named Paul Legaic in the late 1800s.

Paul Legaic and William Duncan

An HBC employee named Arthur Wellington Clah, who was also a Gispaxlo'ots chief, once saved the life of an Anglican missionary named William Duncan in Lax Kw'alaams. A chief named Paul Legaic had ordered Duncan to stop ringing church bells during a special ceremony for the chief's daughter. This Ligeex chief soon became a Christian convert and took the name Paul at his baptism. He was named after the disciple Paul.

Paul Legaic, his wife, and daughter later moved with Duncan to a nearby village called Metlakatla. Duncan founded Metlakatla in 1862 as a Christian community. He wanted to protect his followers from the problems of the HBC fort. Paul Legaic helped Duncan by working with Tsimshian people to encourage more First Nations people to become Christians. Paul Legaic died in Lax Kw'alaams in 1869 during one of these trips.

Changes in Leadership

In the 1930s, an American researcher named Viola Garfield studied the Tsimshian people. She wrote in 1938 that the last chief of the original House of Ligeex was Paul Legaic (who died in 1890). He was the chief who followed the Paul Legaic converted by Duncan.

Paul Legaic II's sister, Martha Legaic, became chief after him but died in 1902. At this point, there were no more heirs in the family's maternal line. Because the other Gispaxlo'ots leaders couldn't agree on who should be the next Ligeex, a council of four main family leaders managed the Gispaxlo'ots' affairs for a while.

New Leadership for Ligeex

Eventually, this council gave the Ligeex chieftainship to George Kelly. He was a member of the House of Sgagweet, which was a leading family of the Gitando tribe in Lax Kw'alaams. His family had strong historical ties with the House of Ligeex. George Kelly had a white father and was born in Port Ludlow, Washington. He grew up in Victoria, B.C., and passed away in 1933. In 1938, Garfield reported that a new council had taken over the Gispaxlo'ots leadership. She thought there might never be another Ligeex chief, even though some families claimed they should take over the name.

Totem Poles of Ligeex

A researcher named Barbeau reported that a "Fin-of-the-Shark" totem pole, over thirty feet tall, belonging to Ligeex was put up around 1837. In 1950, Barbeau wrote that the eagle figure from the top of this pole was still kept in Lax Kw'alaams. An older "Fin-of-the-Shark" pole had stood in the original Gispaxlo'ots village where the Skeena River meets the Shames River.

Barbeau also described an Eagle totem pole belonging to Ligeex that stood in Lax Kw'alaams until it fell before 1926. He believed it was cut up. This wooden pole was put up around 1866. Historically, poles were sometimes erected in ways that involved human sacrifice, but in 1866, a Nisga'a woman and a Haida woman were both saved at the last moment before they could be sacrificed.

Cultural Records and Markings

In the early 1930s, Viola Garfield collected information about Ligeex and the Gispaxlo'ots. This included recordings of House of Ligeex songs, which she got from Matthew Johnson, a leader of another Gispaxlo'ots family group.

There is also a rock painting on a cliff near the mouth of the Skeena River, visible from Highway 16. It shows traditional copper shields and a human face. This painting was made to show Ligeex's ancient control over the river's trade.