1.
Skeena River
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The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada. The river and its basin sustain a variety of fish, wildlife, and vegetation. The Tsimshian migrated to the Lower Skeena River, and the Gitxsan occupy territory of the Upper Skeena, during the Omineca Gold Rush, steamboat services ran from the sea to Hazelton, which was the jumping-off point for the trails to the goldfields. The Hudsons Bay Company established a trading post on the Skeena at what became called Port Simpson, British Columbia. Other tribes live elsewhere in BC, and descendants of one group in Metlatkala, the Skeena originates south of the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park in north western British Columbia, forming a divide with the Klappan River, a tributary of the Stikine River. It flows for 570 km before it empties into Chatham Sound, Telegraph Passage and Ogden Channel, east of the Dixon Entrance, the Skeena drains 54,400 km2 of land with a mean annual discharge of 1,760 cubic metres per second. The Skeena River originates at the end of Spatsizi Plateau. The abandoned track of BC Rails Dease Lake Extension runs along the river in its upper course and it flows south-east, between the shallow peaks of the Skeena Mountains, through the McEvoy and Jackson flats. It continues in this direction until it passes the Slamgeesh Range, then westwards to Fourth Cabin. After Kuldo it takes a turn, then flows south again below Cutoff Mountain. It continues through rolling hills to the community of Kispiox and then Hazelton, where it receives the waters of Morice-Bulkley River, the Yellowhead Highway and a Canadian National Railway track follow the course of the Skeena on this section. It then flows south-west through the city of Terrace, where the river widens, the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment, through BC Parks, has designated a number of Ecological Reserves along the course of the river. The Skeena is well known for its fishing, most notably salmon. The Skeena is also important to the commercial fishing industry. For example, numbering 5 million spawning salmon a year, the Skeena is second only to the Fraser River in Canada in its capacity to produce sockeye salmon. However, in the last 40 years there has been a decrease in some of the fish species, the following types of Pacific salmon can be found in the Skeena, Chinook salmon, sometimes known as king, Tyee, spring, Quinnat, tule, or blackmouth salmon. Chum salmon, sometimes known as dog or calico salmon, coho salmon, sometimes known as silver salmon. Pink salmon, sometimes known as humpback salmon, sockeye salmon, sometimes known as red salmon or blueback salmon
2.
Hazelton, British Columbia
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Hazelton is a village located at the junction of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1866 and has a population of 305, the Hazelton area comprises two municipalities, three unincorporated settlements, four First Nations’ villages, three of which are of the Gitxsan people - - and one of the Wetsuweten people -. The Hazeltons are home to the Gitxsan and Wetsuweten First Nations, Hazelton is one of the oldest settlements in Northern British Columbia, its European settlement dates back to 1866 when the Collins Overland telegraph went through. Hazelton was the gateway and staging area for the Omineca Gold Rush of 1869-73. Besides the hunt for riches, there was one important reason to visit, it had the only proper hospital for hundreds of miles in any direction. One of its other, less appreciated, distinctions was in having dozens of roaming, foraging and howling sled dogs, as everyone had their own team. Transportation options got better in 1891 when the Hudsons Bay Company’s sternwheeler Caledonia arrived from Port Essington, being the head of navigation on the Skeena, Hazelton was to play host to more than a dozen sternwheelers throughout the next twenty-two years. Two Mile was a community two miles out of Hazelton, during the gold rush and rail construction, it was home to a roadhouse and a prosperous red-light district. Everyone was certain there was a fortune to be made and Hazelton was widely advertised as the Spokane of Canada, what made Hazelton even more attractive was her mines, the Silver Standard and the Rocher de Boule. In 1911 two rival town-sites, Robert Kelly’s New Hazelton and the Grand Trunk Pacific’s South Hazelton both came into existence and competed to sell the most lots, thus, the original Hazelton was called Old and together they became known as the Three Hazeltons. Where the railway station would be built was an issue for years until both South and New Hazelton received one. The first car, a Flanders 20, arrived in Hazelton on the evening of October 4,1911 and it did not arrive by rail, which wouldnt be completed from Prince Rupert until 1912, nor did it come in by sternwheeler. It was brought in overland from Seattle, none of the people in town believed that story, as it was nearly impossible to walk into Hazelton overland in 1911, much less drive. The next day went to go see the car where it was parked in front of the Hazelton Hotel and questioned the owner, PE Sands. At a banquet held in his honor later that evening, Sands revealed his secret and he had brought along a mechanic and they had often had to disassemble the car and load it unto mules. Clearly theyd had enough of doing that by the time they reached Hazelton and they packed the car up on a sternwheeler and went to Skeena Crossing where the car was loaded on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway for the trip to Prince Rupert. There the car was loaded on a steamer for the trip back to Seattle. Note, This automobile is now on display at the Kittitas County Historical Museum in Ellensburg, in November 1913, the Union Bank at New Hazelton was robbed by gunmen
3.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
4.
British Columbia
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British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than four million people located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion, along with the U. S. states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Port Moody is named after him, in 1866, Vancouver Island became part of the colony of British Columbia, and Victoria became the united colonys capital. In 1871, British Columbia became the province of Canada. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu, the capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen who created the original European colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, in October 2013, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,606,371. British Columbia evolved from British possessions that were established in what is now British Columbia by 1871, First Nations, the original inhabitants of the land, have a history of at least 10,000 years in the area. Today there are few treaties and the question of Aboriginal Title, notably, the Tsilhqotin Nation has established Aboriginal title to a portion of their territory, as a result of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision. BCs economy is diverse, with service producing industries accounting for the largest portion of the provinces GDP and it is the endpoint of transcontinental railways, and the site of major Pacific ports that enable international trade. Though less than 5% of its vast 944,735 km2 land is arable and its climate encourages outdoor recreation and tourism, though its economic mainstay has long been resource extraction, principally logging, farming, and mining. Vancouver, the provinces largest city and metropolitan area, also serves as the headquarters of many western-based natural resource companies and it also benefits from a strong housing market and a per capita income well above the national average. The Northern Interior region has a climate with very cold winters. The climate of Vancouver is by far the mildest winter climate of the major Canadian cities, the provinces name was chosen by Queen Victoria, when the Colony of British Columbia, i. e. the Mainland, became a British colony in 1858. The current southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, British Columbias land area is 944,735 square kilometres. British Columbias rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres and it is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean. British Columbias capital is Victoria, located at the tip of Vancouver Island. Only a narrow strip of the Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated, much of the western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by thick, tall and sometimes impenetrable temperate rainforest
5.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
6.
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
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The term Pacific Northwest is largely used in the American context. Prior to the contact with Westerners, warfare between nations, and the enslaving of captives was also a common to many of the groups. At one point the region had the highest population density of a region inhabited by Aboriginal peoples in Canada, the Pacific Northwest Coast at one time had the most densely populated areas of indigenous people ever recorded in Canada. The land and waters provided rich natural resources through cedar and salmon, within the Pacific Northwest, many different nations developed, each with their own distinct history, culture, and society. Some cultures in this region were similar and share certain elements, such as the importance of salmon to their cultures. Prior to contact, and for a time after colonization, some of these groups regularly conducted war against each other through raids. Through warfare they gathered captives for slavery, the Tlingit are one of the furthest north indigenous nations in the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their autonym is Lingít, meaning Human being, the Russian name for them, Koloshi, was derived from an Aleut term for the labret, and the related German name, Koulischen, may be encountered in older historical literature. The Tlingit are a matrilineal society and they developed a complex hunter-gatherer culture in the temperate rainforest of the Alaska Panhandle and adjoining inland areas of present-day British Columbia and Yukon. The Tsetsaut were an Athabaskan people whose territory was at the head of the Portland Canal, decimated by raiding and disease, their survivors were absorbed into the Nisgaa. The latter people now hold their territories as they are now extinct. The Haida people are known as skilled artisans of wood, metal. They have also shown much perseverance and resolve in the area of forest conservation, the vast forests of cedar and spruce where the Haida make their home are on pre-glacial land, which is believed to be almost 14,000 years old. Haida communities located in Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, and Haida Gwaii also share a border with other indigenous peoples, such as the Tlingit. The Haida were also famous for their raiding and slaving, reaching as far as Mexico. There are about 10,000 Tsimshian, of which about 1,300 live in Alaska, succession in Tsimshian society is matrilineal, and ones place in society was determined by ones clan or phratry. Four main Tsimshian clans form the basic phratry, the Laxsgiik and Ganhada form one half. Gispwudwada and Laxgibuu form the other half, prior to European contact, marriage in Tsimshian society could not take place within a half-group, for example between a Wolf and a Killer Whale
7.
Tsimshianic languages
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The Tsimshianic languages are a family of languages spoken in northwestern British Columbia and in Southeast Alaska on Annette Island and Ketchikan. About 2,170 people of the ethnic Tsimshian /ˈsɪmʃiən/ population in Canada still speak a Tsimshian language, Tsimshianic languages are considered by most linguists to be an isolate group of languages, with four main languages or lects, Coast Tsimshian, Southern Tsimshian, Nisg̱a’a, and Gitksan. The Tsimshianic languages were included by Edward Sapir in his Penutian hypothesis, Southern Tsimshian is spoken on an island quite far south of the Skeena River in the village of Klemtu. Southern Tsimshian is severely endangered, nearing extinction, Nisga’a is spoken along the Nass River. Gitksan is spoken along the Upper Skeena River around Hazelton and other areas, Nisga’a and Gitksan are very closely related and are usually considered dialects of the same language by linguists. However, speakers from both groups consider themselves separate from each other and from the Tsimshian and thus consider Nisga’a. Coast and Southern Tsimshian are also regarded as dialects of the same language. As of 2013, Tsimshian courses are available at the University of Alaska Southeast, consonantal inventory of Proto-Tsimshian, Tsimshian Boas, Franz. Handbook of American Indian Languages Bulletin No, the Languages of Native North America. Tsimshianic and Penutian, Problems, Methods, Results, and Implications, international Journal of American Linguistics 63. 52-244
Canada
British Columbia