Cultural

Haida

Blessed with living in a naturally rich area, the Haida dined well on deer, bear, seal, otter, duck and five varieties of salmon. Bushes hung low on Queen Charlotte with fat berries ripe for picking, and survival was seldom a problem. Each village was headed up by as many as four chiefs.  Everyone in the community had a particular rank, creating a hierarchy akin to a caste system. Although there was free mixing among the ranks in daily life, there was little intermarriage between the strata of society.  The villages were organized around a dual structure of clan and totem. Clan is extended family and totems were distinguished by such animal signs as bear, eagle, raven and whale. One joined the same totem as his or her mother and one could not marry a person of the same totem.

The totem poles of Haida Gwaii are masterful. Contrary to popular opinion, totem poles were never objects of worship. They were heraldic emblems, as well as a method of storytelling and a means of preserving a community's collective memory. They were usually erected after a family had achieved some measure of economic success. Part of the fun of raising a pole was to show off to the neighbors. Interesting how some things never change.