ANCIENT VILLAGES AND TOTEM POLES OF THE NISG̱A'A

G̱alts’abim Ank’idaa - Village of Ank’idaa

Explore the Ancient Village of Ank’idaa - move the eagle cursor over each longhouse
and totem pole to see the Nisg̱a’a House and click to view further details of each totem pole.
The artist’s image and pole descriptions for Ank’idaa are based approximately on the year 1880, according to the best historical information currently available.

Map of Ank'idaa Link to Haym̓aas Link to Pole of Ni’isjoohl Link to Pole of Ni'isginw̓aatx Link to Poe of Hanging Across Link to Crane and Grizzly Bear Pole Link to Shaking Pole of Kw’ax̱suu Link to Pole of Two Ravens Link to Pole of Man Link to Bear Pole Link to Pole of Man Link to Pole of Hlidax̱ Link to Pole of Luuy’aas Link to Wide Base Pole Link to Plain Pole

G̱alts’abim Ank’idaa

Lax̱-likst’aa wil t’aahl wii lay̓im g̱alts’aphl Nisg̱a’a siwatkwsit ahl Ank’idaa.Ligii kwsdins kilometrehl wadin-g̱an̓agwit ahl ḵ’alii-aks ahl Lax̱g̱alts’ap. Aam wilaa t’aat wil ḵ’ayim hagwin-dilpkwt wil m̓ugum saakdiit, n̓i wilt diw̓itkwhl g̱alts’aphl wa ahl anhooya’ahl hooksit wil m̓ugum saakdiit. Hooxdiit wil hankshl aks, n̓ihl siwatgwit ahl k’idaa.

W̓ii n̓agum g̱anhl k’idaa, ii n̓ii- haxhukskwhl g̱anim t’aaw̓ilt loot, dimt wilaa hugax̱hl hapts’ay̓. Gilp’il-ḵ’aaxhl g̱an̓agwit. N̓ihl hooxdiit wilt sayt g̱aapx̱a’andiithl saak ts’im-hanksim aks awa’ahl Ank’idaa, iit hooxdiithl k’idaa ahl g̱anwaax. N̓ii- haxhukwskwhl saak ahl k’idaa, at hooxdiithl m̓aal wil m̓ugum saakdiit.

Giisgwihl xbil̓ di gilpilhl pts’aanhl maḵsgwit ahl 1800, ii gilpilhl row wil maḵskwhl sim wilp ligii half kilometers g̱an̓agwi wil maḵskwt. Gwilal̓hl pdeeḵhl wanit ahl Ank’idaa n̓ihl: Lax̱gibuu, Lax̱sgiik, ii G̱anada.


Village of Ank’idaa

Ank’idaa was a very large Nisg̱a’a village located on an island in the middle of the Nass River approximately 5 kilometres upriver from modern day Lax̱g̱alts’ap. It was a good location for fishing oolichan, so the village took its name from a traditional tool for fishing oolichan in shallow water, the k’idaa.

The k’idaa was a long pole with wooden spikes aligned like a rake or comb along 2 feet of its length at one end. Using the k’idaa, it was easy to “rake” the oolichan out of the shallow waters near Ank’idaa by paddling the water with the k’idaa and impaling the oolichan on its spikes. This was usually done from a canoe.

More than a dozen poles stood in the village in the late 1800s, and there were two rows of longhouses over a distance of approximately half a kilometre. Three tribes were represented at Ank’idaa: the Wolf, the Eagle, and the Raven.