Re-Awakening our Tribal Greatness

Re-Awakening our Tribal Greatness
Terrance H. Booth, Sr. – Tsimshian Tribe

“Tribal economic development in reality would be a re-discovery of who we are as tribal people.” Quote from the late Ira C. Booth, Tsimshian Tribal Historian, Tsimshian Nation. He then expounded upon the our ancestors trade route that extended clear to the ice edge of the Arctic Circle covering most of the Pacific Coast, British Columbia Coast, Washington State Coast, Oregon Coast, California Coast, Central America Coast and Northern parts of South America. The late Mr. Booth did a partial research on the northern trade route of the Tsimshian and came upon two Tlingit Villages Angoon and Yakutat. The Tsimshian traded and bartered there. The story is when they came to these villages they would have a contest between one another. One year in Yakutat the Tsimshian visitors could not guess the animals of the Tlingit of Yakutat they who were mimicking different animals of their area; so a Tsimshian was left there in Yakutat to teach them Tsimshian songs. Today these songs are still sung by Angoon and Yakutat Tribal Dancers and before singing them they announce to their audience how they received the songs with the Tsimshian bartering and trading with them. The songs for Angoon and Yakutat Tlingits are their entrance songs.

Prosperity by the Tsimshian Nation developed during the Fur Trade era and the gold rush era putting the Tsimshian right in the very middle of commerce in northwest history by the Tsimshian Hereditary Chiefs having several monopolies. They transported goods to one area to another area, during the era many salmon canneries in northern British Columbia and one of our Tsimshian Hereditary Chiefs had a say in the workers wage labor before the salmon season started. Today we see pockets of successes take place with Lax Kw’Alaams with lumber and timber, seafood production. In Terrace, BC we see the Tsimshian busy with lumber and timber operation being very successful. If all the villages and Council Bands are in one accord great things can happen to even market more products like the addition of kiln drying operation to existing lumber and timber operation for purpose of value adding the lumber for indoor and outdoor applications. Like the creation of wood for outdoor decking, fencing, posts, moldings, doorframes, window frames, kitchen cabinets, and other value-adding wood applications. As it is whole logs or cants are sold and buyer makes more profits by value adding these logs or cants.

Same with our salmon much more value adding can take place: portion sizing, smoked salmon, salmon pate, gift box with Tsimshian Designs on wooden gift boxes. Vacuum packing salmon with Tsimshian Labeling, with smoked or fresh portion sizes. We can do canning of salmon with Tsimshian Labeling. Since we are known as the “People of the Salmon” creative marketing of our own Native salmon can take place for we have the salmon reflected in our arts, dances, songs and stories that goes back thousands of years. Most chain stores have cultural diversity program meaning that minorities can put on their shelves their food products in some stores there is ethnic food section in some of the stores. The Tsimshian Seafood Products can be placed in the chain stores shelves as well.

There are natural First Nations and Alaska Native and Native American partnerships that can be formed by just looking who are ancestors traded with and how far they went to do bartering and trading. This writer while serving his Tribal Council attended the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians during the time the Makah Nation was announcing that they were going to do their traditional whaling. Usually this writer’s tribe sends two Councilpersons to conferences one being senior Council member and other freshman Council member. At this conference on arrival while signing in to register the place came to a silence and we could hear whispers by those attending the conference, “those are Tsimshian People,” our senior Council member rushed over to see how they knew us. One Makah elder got up looked at our senior Council member right in the face and said, “I know your great grandfather” and still another said same thing. Then they said you the Tsimshian People use to come and trade and barter with us. Your canoes were coming from the north going south or coming from the south going north. A partial research on Tsimshian trade route in Alaska of the Tsimshian, the late Ira C. Booth, Tsimshian Historian visited Angoon and Yakutat both Tlingit Villages and each of the villages have three songs that are their entrance songs and prior to singing these Tsimshian songs they announce to the audience that the songs they will be singing came from the Tsimshian that our ancestors use to trade and barter with us the Tlingit People. Above Yakutat, Alaska is Tsimshian Point. The late Mr. Booth says that we the Tsimshian went as far as the ice edge of the Arctic Circle and just about the length of the Pacific Coast.

Today through our Tsimshian Artists we have continued ties with our neighboring tribes and have kept the tradition of trading and bartering and doing commissioned artwork with other tribes along the British Columbia Coast. Even tool making classes is taking place teaching other tribes of tool making for carving. Red Cedar trees are traded or bartered for carving totem poles, making of Bentwood Box Drums, masks and other carved wooden items. Are artists are scattered in different countries, different states, selling their artwork at Native Art Shows, museums, art galleries, or doing commissioned artwork or even to collectors.

Among our Tsimshian People is the noted Mr. Calvin Helin now has accomplished two trade missions to basically open up the door to broaden First Nations economies. Reading the results of the first trade mission some First Nations came back with 100’s of millions of dollars to develop and enhance economic opportunities for their tribal settings. Such accomplishments are worth noticing and we see pockets of successes taking place among our Tsimshian Nation. The door of opportunities have been opened for us as a Tsimshian Nation to begin to take great strides of what can exist for us in establishing a global economy. This writer in 1996 in behalf of Metlakatla, Alaska with eight other Native American Tribes representing: lumber and timber, beef and cattle, citrus, agriculture products, and seafood products. This writer represented seafood products and still today since 1996 still receives seafood requests. This broadens opportunities and finds that there is a keen interest in working with Natives by the Chinese companies represented in Hong Kong. We found that there was a real appreciation for longevity in the seafood industry or other industries of the tribes by the Chinese businesses. This trade mission was sponsored by US Chamber of Commerce and hosted by American Indian Trade and Development, by the late Mr. Fred Lane, of the Lummi Nation. One major accomplishment was the Yakima Nation established a trade office in Singapore, China and gets many requests and referrals. Today since 1996 this writer still gets many referrals and requests for seafood. It is forwarded to our Native Fisheries tribes these referrals or requests.

We have some of our Tsimshian people paving the way for us and opening up doors of opportunity. Our Tsimshian recorded history shows the Tsimshian were also significantly involved in industrial production, manufactures, mercantile enterprises, and wage labor. In the expansion of British Columbia the Tsimshian People were active with direct participation and involvement with the local economic activities and right in the center of commerce. 1 From our recent past significant accomplishment were made due to us being in one accord. Let us as a Tsimshian Nation be in one accord to even make greater accomplishments. It can happen let us do it for the good of the Tsimshian Nation and for the good of our people. Being in one accord means developing unity among us as a Tsimshian Nation so that our people can prosper. Our Tsimshian Ancestors have already paved the way and doors of opportunity await us.