Cultural Analysis: Indigenous Groups of Northwest Coast, Canada, Essay

This essay provides an overview of the indigenous groups inhabiting the Northwest Coast of Canada, including the Nu-Chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, Haida, Salish, and Haisla, among others. It analyzes their cultural environments, which span from vast beaches to mountainous regions. The essay highlights the significance of salmon and cedar in their communities, the creation of permanent settlements, and the development of wealth and political complexity. It also discusses the historical context, including the first settlements and the evolution of cultural practices. The essay further examines the progress made in land claims and self-government, mentioning landmark cases and treaties such as the Calder case, the Nisga'a Nation's land dispute, the British Columbia Treaty Commission, and the Maa-nulth First Nations Final Agreement. Finally, the essay concludes by emphasizing the formation of tribal councils and associations to protect indigenous rights and land claims, such as the Tsimshian Tribal Council and Coast Salish Gathering.

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Introduction
Many indigenous groups, including the Nu-Chah-nulth, the Kwakwaka'wakw, Haida,
the coast of Salish, and Haisla, are present in the tribal region of the northwest coast, which is
now Canada. The area is full of vast beaches to deep fjords and mountains filled in snow, and
the area has highly severe topography.
Analysis
According to my research, all ancient and modern aboriginal groups in Canada have
populated various cultural environments, which have no strict borders, unlike provinces or
nations, which apply to regions more broadly. Most of these ethnic regions are the Northwest
Shore. The Hills, the Mountains, Subarctic, Arctic and Eastern Woods are also included.
The Northwest Coast is host to several tribal peoples. The North East of British
Columbia and the Southwest Yukon to the South of Alaska control territory (Seguin, 1986).
The Tlingit occupies lands. The Haida live on the northern shore of British Columbia, Haida
Gwaii.
Tsimshian-speaking people, including the Nisgara and Gitksan (Gitxsan), are found
along the Nass and Skeena Rivers. The island of Haisla, Heiltsuk, Oweekeno (Rivers Inlet),
and Kwakwaka'wakw extends along the coast from Tsimshi to North-East Vancouver. The
Nuu-chah-nulth lives on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The residual peoples comprise
the Salish peninsula, a vast number of indigenous nations, including the Salish Central Coast
and the Salish North Coast.
My analysis indicates that possibly 14,000 years after the last ice age, the first
settlement on the Northwest coast existed. The hunting and gathering communities were
created, with salmon and cedar becoming the most vital tools. Settlement stability and
plentiful capital, because of the lack of agricultural industries, enabled the creation of

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permanent settlements and considerable wealth and political complexity (Letham et al.,
2018). Archaeology has prompted many historians to suggest that cultural and theological
practices have been followed on the Northwest Coast for over 5,000 years,
Furthermore, I have found that the first groups to support Aboriginal land claims and
establish self-government have made strides in the past, following the Calder case in 1973.
Also, the Nisga'a Nation's groundbreaking land dispute started in the same year. The British
Columbia Treaty Commission was established in 1992 and has mediated talks with several
other First Nations in the region on new treaties ever since.
Notwithstanding the complications, the Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement
was signed in 2009 and the Maa-nulth First Nations Final Agreement in 2011, the only
multicultural settlement in British Columbia's colonial memory. The Treaty of Maa-nulth
includes Huu-ay-aht, Kyuquot, and Checleseht, Toquaht, Ucluelet, and Uchucklesaht, all part
of the Nu-Chah-nulth Tribal Council (Letham & Coupland, 2018). This settlement consists of
the Nu-Chah-nulth Tribal Council. The tribal groups of the Northwest Coast have even
brought their property and privileges before the Trials. In 2004, in Haida Nation v. British
Columbia and Taku River Tlingit v. British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled
that the Crown had the duty to determine laws that would affect the privileges of treaties, to
consult and provide adequate accommodation for the indigenous community. Just until
negotiations are signed, this obligation occurs.
Conclusion
Conclusively, we can say that to protect indigenous privileges and claims for land,
northwest coast indigenous groups have formed many tribal councils and associations. In the
sense of collective involvement of local groups and a wide variety of socio-economic and
political concerns, for example, the Tsimshian Tribal Council, established in 1958 and the

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Coast Salish Gathering and the Tsimshi's Tribal Council was established in 2005 and 1988
respectively.

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References
Letham, B., & Coupland, G. (2018). 10 Ancient Mortuary Ritual and Cultural Resilience on
the Northwest Coast of North America. Hunter-Gatherer Adaptation and Resilience:
A Bioarchaeological Perspective, 81, 227.
Letham, B., Martindale, A., Waber, N., & Ames, K. M. (2018). Archaeological survey of
dynamic coastal landscapes and paleo shorelines: Locating early Holocene sites in the
Prince Rupert Harbour area, British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Field
Archaeology, 43(3), 181-199.
Seguin, M. (1986). The Northwest Coast-A Regional Overview. R. Bruce MORRISON and
C. Roderick WILSON, Native Peoples: The Canadian Experience. Toronto,
McClelland and Stewart, 468-473.