Git-Hoan “People of the Salmon”

By: Yadira CanoAnthropology 121(Fall 2012)

The Git-Hoan are descendants of the Tsimshian located in Metlakatla, Alaska. They are the “People of the Salmon” and known for their Mask dancing, they are based out of Seattle. The Tsimshian represent the Eagle, Killer whale, Raven and Wolf clans.

The dance group was established in 1996 by David Boxley and the majority of the dancers come from one family.

Their songs are considered property and are always used by permission.

“Chief Headdress Honor Song”

The down feathers represent Peace, if the feathers touch you if means Good Luck.

“Raven Song”

The Raven song is performed to honor the Raven Clan.The Raven is believed to be the creator of the physical world and bringer of light. The Raven has supernatural powers and can be mischievous and make people play tricks on each other.

“Dance of the Mouse Woman”

The Mouse woman watches over young people and advises them against being tricked and taken from the Cannibal Giant. When they don’t listen the Giant takes them.

“Beaver Song”The Beaver Song is a story of a Beaver that built a Damn.The Damn was destroyed by foolish kids. The Beaver re-built the damn bigger and flooded the village and killed the people in the Village.

Later someone else walking the the damn stopped and looked it and a giant Beaver came up from the water and stomped its tail really hard to cause a huge wave. The person walked away!Moral of the story,Honor and Respect people!

“Land Otter Spirit”These women represent the evil land otter spirits. The young men will see the land otters as pretty women, and young women will see them as handsome men. So the women here are giving their "come hither" hands to the men. When they come they are taken. Then a powerful shaman comes and defeats the evil land otter spirits.

“Prince of Wolves”This story is of an Eagle and a young chief

The eagle is caught in a net and the chief sees him struggling and releases him. Time passes and the chiefs people are going througha famine. The Eagle sees the chief in trouble and drops a salmonat the foot of the chief. The eagle does this everyday until theentire village is fed as a thank you for helping so many years ago.

“Eagle dance”The Eagle Dance was performed to honor the Eagle Clan and all the audience members that made and wore eagle masks

Masks of the Git-HoanAll the masks are hand-madeand have moving parts, such as the eyesand mouth. There are only about 100 people left that can speak the Salmon Language and this is why they decided to bring the Git-Hoan to the rest of the world.

The End!