Tsimshian Culture

Coastal parts of Canada and Alaska have been inhabited by the Tsimshian people for thousands of years. Prince Rupert's ideal location, at the confluence of the Skeena River with coastal saltwater, made it a highly prized place to establish a fishing village. A wealth of salmon, herring, and hooligan (or, more correctly, eulachon) congregate here annually, and they are accompanied by the seals, whales, and birds that prey on them. These fish are always in top shape as they approach the mouth of the river; farther up the waterway they will cease eating as their energy begins to wane and their terminal quest to spawn continues.

Before the modern fishing industry transformed the coast, plank houses were laid out following the curve of the shoreline, usually with the chief's house in the center. Each house had a name like Moon House, Beaver House, or House Where People Always Want to Go. If the owner was rich enough to commission a frontal totem, this pole was erected between the house and the shore, facing approaching canoes.

The Tsimshian took advantage of seasonal foods by efficiently drying and smoking fish and meat, rendering oil from fish and seals, and preserving berries and wild crab apples in oil. For shelter, they lived in plank houses during the winter, and built smokehouses and lean-tos covered with bark or mats at hunting and fishing sites.