WAYS OF LIFE
ANCIENT VILLAGES OF THE NISG̱A'A
- Origins
- Legends
- Migrations
- Clan Systems
- Tribes and Crests
- Fishing
- Oolichan Grease
- Hunting
- Plant Foods
- Weaving
- Carving / Carvers
- Values
- Funeral Rites
- Feasts
- Longhouses
- Hoobiyee
- Initiation of Women
- Initiation of Men
- Marriage
- Baby Naming
- Shamans
- Halayt Dance
- Amhalayts
- Rattles
- Transportation
- Warfare
- Tools and Utensils
Fishing
Fishing was the main livelihood of the Nisg̱a’a since earliest times. Salmon, oolichan, halibut, herring and countless varieties of shellfish have long provided the Nisg̱a’a with their largest single food source on the Nass River and along Observatory Inlet. The traditional harvest of seafoods continues today.
In the fall, the Nisg̱a’a fish salmon and preserve it with smoking, creating a long-term food source to last the long northern winter. Near the end of winter, they fish vast quantities of oolichan from the river and render edible grease from this small and very oily member of the smelt family. At other times in the year, they collect shellfish such as cockles along nearby saltwater inlets. They also fish halibut and herring, and they hunt sea mammals such as seals and sea lions.
