Walter Wright (oral historian) facts for kids

Walter George Wright (who passed away in 1949) was a respected Canadian chief from the Tsimshian people. He belonged to the community of Kitselas, which is close to Terrace, British Columbia. Walter George Wright knew a lot about his people's oral history, which means stories and traditions passed down by word of mouth. After he died, his amazing knowledge was put into a book called Men of Medeek.

Who Was Chief Niistaxo'ok?

Walter George Wright held an important family name called Niistaxo'ok. This name was passed down through his family and showed that he was a chief. It was linked to the House of Niistaxo'ok, which was a special family group within the Gispwudwada (Killerwhale) clan of the Kitselas tribe.

Chief Wright once explained his important role:

• "I have 'Power' on both sides of The Big Canyon." This means he had influence and responsibility on both sides of the Kitselas Canyon.
• He said his family, the Neas-D-Hok (Niistaxo'ok), had held this right for many generations.
• He also carried the "Power" of another chief, Neas Hiwas, because there was no one else to hold that name in his time.

Niishaywaaxs was another chief's name from a different Kitselas Gispwudwada family on the other side of the canyon. Walter George Wright's grandfather also held the name Niishaywaaxs. His grandfather taught him all the old stories that later became the book Men of Medeek.

Walter George Wright also worked as a pilot for river-boats on the Skeena River. He steered large boats called sternwheelers for the Hudson's Bay Company. He kept doing this job until his eyesight started to get bad. Later in his life, he became blind. He was also an Envoy, which is a type of leader, in The Salvation Army.

Men of Medeek: Stories of the Past

Walter George Wright shared the stories for his book Men of Medeek with Will Robinson, a local judge, between 1935 and 1936. But the book wasn't published until 1962, after both Wright and Robinson had passed away.

The book contains important oral clan histories, called adawx by the Tsimshian people. These stories tell how the Gispwudwada people first came to Kitselas Canyon. They also include exciting tales about other Tsimshian chiefs, like Ligeex of the Gispaxlo'ots and Gitxon of Kitselas.

The word "medeek" (or midiik) is a Tsimshian word for a grizzly bear. The grizzly bear is one of the special symbols, or "crests," of Walter George Wright's family branch of the Gispwudwada. You might even see a street named Medeek Avenue in Terrace, which is named after this important symbol!

In the 1920s, Walter George Wright also recorded stories with William Beynon. William Beynon was a Tsimshian expert who studied cultures.

Chief Wright's Family and Legacy

Walter George Wright had seven sisters. Their marriages were carefully planned to connect families and create future leaders (nephews) in different First Nations communities. These communities, like Hartley Bay, Lax Kw'alaams, and Kitimat, are mentioned in the adawx stories in Men of Medeek.

One of his sisters, Eliza, married Tom Thornhill, who was the first white settler in the Kitselas area. Walter George Wright passed away on November 14, 1949. Some records say he was 84 years old, but when he told his stories for Men of Medeek in 1935–36, he said he was 65. Other sources even suggest he was 104 when he died!

A newspaper report about his funeral said that his sister's son, Walter Nyce from Kitimat, British Columbia, was chosen as the new chief of the Kitselas people.

Passing on the Chieftainship

There's another story about how the chieftainship was passed on. Later in his life, Walter George Wright visited his sister Rhoda Wright Bates in Hartley Bay. She was working at a cannery on the Skeena River. He asked if her grandson, Clarence Anderson, who was 14 years old at the time, could come live with him to be trained. He also arranged for Clarence's future marriage. Clarence Anderson eventually became the next chief and took on the name Niistaxo'ok. This story was shared by Clarence Anderson's wife, Margaret Seguin Anderson, who was an anthropologist, and their daughter Tammy Anderson Blumhagen.

Will Robinson, the judge who wrote down Wright's stories, wanted his family to publish the rest of Wright's writings, which were titled Wars of Medeek. This wish was forgotten until Robinson's granddaughter, Enid DuPuis, found his old papers. Another grandchild, Barry Robinson, then contacted Glenn Bennett, who was the Chief Councillor of the Kitselas Band. Glenn Bennett connected him with Ralph Wright, who was Walter George Wright's grandson and a former Chief Councillor himself. Ralph Wright remembered hearing these stories from his grandfather.

In 2003, Barry Robinson published a special edition that included both Men of Medeek and Wars of Medeek. He gave this limited edition to the Kitselas Nation, along with about 50 copies for chiefs and important people. All the original documents and copyrights were given to the Kitselas Nations by Barry Robinson in 2003.