522 



HAIDA 



[B. A. E. 



Canoes were to the people of this coast 

 what the horse liecame to the Phiins 

 Indians. They were hollowed out of sin- 

 gle logs of cedar, and were sometimes 

 very large. Houses were built of huge 

 cedar beams and planks which were 

 worked out with adzes and wedges made 

 anciently of stone, and ]iut together at 

 great feasts called by the whites by the 

 jargon word "potlatch" (q. v.). "Each 

 house ordinarily had a single carved pole 

 in the middle of the gable end presented 

 to the beach (see Aycliitedurc). Often the 

 end posts in front were also carved and 

 the whole house front painted. The dead 

 were placed in mortuary houses, in boxes 

 on carved poles, or sometimes in caves. 

 vShamans were placed after death in small 

 houses built on i>rominent points along 

 shore. Among the beliefs of the Haida 

 reincarnation held a prominent place. 



An estimate of the Haida population 

 made, according to Dawson, by John 

 Work, between 1836 and 1841, gives a 

 total of 8, 328, embracing 1 , 735 Kaigani and 

 6,593 Queen Charlotte islanders. Dawson 

 estimated the number of people on the 

 Queen Charlotte ids. in 1880 as between 

 1,700 and 2,000. An estimate made for 

 the Canadian Department of Indian Af- 

 fairs in 1888 (Ann. Rep., 317) gives 2,500, 

 but the figures were evidently exagger- 

 ated, for when a census of Masset, Skide- 

 gate, and Cold Harbor was taken the year 

 after (Ann. Rep., 272) it gave only 637. 

 This, however, left out of consideration 

 the people of New Kloo. In 1894 (Ann. 

 Rep., 280), when these were first added to 

 the list, the entire Haida population was 

 found to be 639. The figures for the year 

 following were 593, but from that time 

 showed an increase and stood at 734 in 

 1902. In 1 904, however, they had suffered 

 a sharp decline to 587. Petroff in 1 880-81 

 reported 788 Kaigani, but this figure may 

 be somewhat too high, since Dall about 

 the same time estimated their nimdjer at 

 300. According to the census of 1890 

 there were 391, and they are now (1905) 

 estimated at 300. The entire Haida pop- 

 ulation would thus seem to be al)out 900. 



The Alaskan Haida are called Kaigani. 

 By the Queen Charlotte islanders they 

 are designated Kets-hade ( Q.'ets xcVde) , 

 which ]>robably means 'people of the 

 strait.' The people of ^Masset inlet and 

 the N. end of Queen Charlotte ids. gener- 

 ally are called by their southern kinsmen 

 Gao-haidagai {Gao xa^-ida-ga-i), 'inlet 

 people,' and those living around the 

 southern point of the group are called 

 Gunghet-haidagai {Ga^ n.ref-.ra^-ld.4ga-i), 

 from the name of one of the most south- 

 erly capes in their territory. All of these 

 latter finally settled in the town after- 

 ward known to whites as Ninstints, and 

 hence came to be called Ninstints people. 



The entire stock is divided into two 

 "sides" or clans — Raven (Hoy:i) and 

 Eagle (Got) — each of which is subdivided 

 and resubdivided into numerous smaller 

 local groups, as given below. \The braces 

 indicate that the families grouped there- 

 under were related. Theoretically each 

 clan was descended from one woman.) 



Ravex 

 Aokeawai. 



(I. Hlingwainaas-hadiii. 

 Ii. Taolnaas-hadai. 

 Daiyuahl-lanas (or) Kasta-kegawai. 

 Djahui-skwahladagai. 

 Hlgaiu-lanas. 



a. Hlgagilda-kegawai. 

 ^ Kogangas. 

 Skwahladas. 



a. Nasto-kegawai. 

 Hagi-lanas. 



(t. Huldanggats. 

 b. Keda-lanas. 

 Hlgahetgu-lanas. 



a. Kilstlaidjat-taking-galung. 



b. Sels. 

 Stasaos-kegawai. 



a. Gunghet-kegawai. 

 Kadusgo-kegawai. 

 Yaku-lanas. 



a. Aoyaku-lnagai. 



b. (Alaskan branch.) 



1. Kaadnaas-hadai. 



2. Yehlnaas-hadai. 



3. Skistlainai-hadai. 



4. Nakeduts-hadai. 

 Naikun-kegawai. 



a. Huados. 

 Kuna-lanas. 



((. Hlielungkun-lnagai. 



b. Saguikun-lnagai. 



c. Teeskun-lnagai. 



(/. Yagunkun-lnagai. 

 Stlenga-lanas. 



a. Aostlan-lnagai. 

 /'. Dostlan-lnagai. 



1. Kaiihl-lanas. 



c. Teesstlan-lnagai. 



d. Yagunstlan-lnagai. 

 Kagials-kegawai. 



<(. Kils-haidagai. 



b. Kogahl-lanas. 



Tadji-lanas. There were two great di- 

 visions of this name, the southern 

 one with a subdivision called — 

 a. Kaidju-kegawai. 

 Kas-lanas. 



IKianusili. 

 Sagangusili. 

 Skidaokao. 

 Koetas. 



a. Hlkaonedis. 



b. Huadjinaas-hadai. 



c. Nakalas-hadai. 

 (/. Neden-hadai. 

 e. Chats-hadai. 



