V 
41 
(5) Poles of Laelt, at Kitwanga 
OWNERS 
Lselt and his family form part of what may be called the 'Neegyamks 
(Sun-shines-on) or Frog-woman clan of the Larhsail phratry among the 
Gitksan and the Nisrse. This clan, according to tradition, originated 
at the ancient village of Antegwalae on the middle Nass, in the neighbour- 
hood of the present Fishery bay. After the apparition of supernatural 
Squirrels ( Tsenhleek ), the members of the ancestor's family scattered 
in various directions. Several of them were adopted by friendly families 
among the Gitksan. It is said, for instance, that^ 
“Other women of this family proceeded from the Nass to Gitwinlkul towards the 
Skeena. One of them went into the house of Kweenu, where she remained. Her name 
was UkslarhtjE. Another, Deeluyae, went on to Kitwanga, and was received by Lselt 
as a member of his family. That is why we use the same myth, the same dirge songs, 
though some of our crests differ.” 
Another informant^ believed that “Lselt and his family originated at 
Antegwalae, on the Nass, and had migrated from there to Kitwanga, after 
the flood.” Another time he added, “They are not quite of the Kitwanga 
tribe, having come here lately from the Black-river^ (on the upper Nass). 
For that reason, they have no hunting ground on the Skeena — because they 
are not of this river.” 
The relatives of Laelt abroad are given as the following; on the Nass — ■ 
at Gitlarhdamks, Trahram-larhaet, Ksem-rhsan, and Ramlu’aks; 'Ahlta- 
qawrhs, at Gitrhatin; ’Arhlawals and Wakyas, at Gitrhahla, among the 
seacoast Tsimsyan; Kweenu, at Gitwinlkul; and, although not mentioned 
in the list, it seems that the family of Harhu, of Kispayaks, andWutarhayaets, 
of Hagwelget (among the Carriers), are somehow also of the same group, 
since they, on their side, use the 'Neegyamks crest and myth, and indicate 
Kweenu as their kinsman. 
The family of Laelt at Kitwanga consists of six households; those of: 
Laelt, ^ Ha'ku,® Alla-ist or T-haku,® Wawderh, and Luleq. The members 
of this group own altogether five totem poles at Kitwanga, all but one of 
which now stand^ along the village lane and face north, instead of being 
at the river’s edge and facing south, as formerly. 
Laelt’s family and that of Hlengwah, the head-chief of the local Larh- 
sail, are distantly related, although not of the same clan. Their relation- 
ship is rather complex. Hlengwah’s maternal ancestors, as we see 
below on page 48, belonged to two distinct clans that amalgamated less 
than two hundred years ago; one of his ancestors was Qawm, of Kitsalas, 
among the Tsimsyan; the other was Arhkawt, of Gitlarhdamks, on the upper 
Nass. The famous warrior Nseqt belonged to this second branch of the 
family, and it is at the time of his coming that Arhkawt joined the band 
'According to Laelt (Salomon Harris), the head of the families of this clan at Kitwanga. 
*Head-chief Hlengwah (Jim Larahnitz), of Kitwanga. 
•Windaw'tsaks: Where- is-blackwater. Lselt’s hunting grounds still are in the Blackwater district. 
*Now Salomon Harris. 
*John Fowler. 
•Benson. 
^Since they have been restored and preserved. 
84628—4 
