The Nisgaüa (; ), formerly spelled Nishga or Niska, are an Indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The origin of the term Niska is uncertain. The spelling Nishga is used by the Nishga Tribal Council, and some scholars claim that the term means 'people of the Nass River'. The name is a reduced form of , which is a loan word from Tongass Tlingit, where it means 'people of the Nass River'.
The official languages of Nisgñaüa are the Nisgñaüa language and English.
Nisgaüa society is organized into four tribes:
Each tribe is further sub-divided into house groups â extended families with the same origins. Some houses are grouped together into clans â grouping of houses with same ancestors. Example:
The Nisgaüa traditionally harvest "sea food" all year round. This might include razor clams, mussels, oysters, limpets, scallops, abalone, fish, seaweed and other seafood that can be harvested from the shore. They also harvest salmon, cod, char, pike, trout and other freshwater fish from the streams, and hunt seals, fish and sea lion. The grease of the oolichan fish (Thaleichthys pacificus) is sometimes traded with other tribes, though nowadays this is more usually in a ceremonial context. They hunt mountain goat, marmot, game birds and more in the forests. The family works together to cook and process the meat and fish, roasting or boiling the former. They eat fish and sea mammals in frozen, boiled, dried or roasted form. The heads of a type of cod, often gathered half-eaten by sharks, are boiled into a soup that, according to folklore, helps prevent colds. The Nisgaâ²a also trade dried fish, seal oil, fish oil, blubber and cedar.
The traditional houses of the Nisgaüa are shaped as large rectangles, made of cedar planks with cedar shake roofs, and oriented with the doors facing the water. The doors are usually decorated with the family crest. Inside, the floor is dug down to hold the hearth and conserve temperature. Beds and boxes of possessions are placed around the walls. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, around three or four extended families might live in one house; this is nowadays an uncommon practice. Masks and blankets might decorate the walls.
Prior to European colonization, men wore nothing in the summer, normally the best time to hunt and fish. Women wore skirts made of softened cedar bark and went topless. During the colder season, men wore cedar bark skirts (shaped more like a loincloth), a cape of cedar bark, and a basket hat outside in the rain, but wore nothing inside the house. Women wore basket hats and cedar blankets indoors and outdoors. Both sexes made and wore shell and bone necklaces. They rubbed seal blubber into their hair, and men kept their hair long or in a top knot. During warfare, men wore red cedar armour, a cedar helmet, and cedar loincloths. They wielded spears, clubs, harpoons, bows and slings. Wicker shields were common.
The Nisgaüa calendar revolves around harvesting of foods and goods used. The original year followed the various moons throughout the year.
Approximately 2,000 people live in the Nass Valley. Another 5,000 Nisgaüa live elsewhere in Canada, predominantly within the three urban societies noted in the section below.
The Nisgaüa people number about 7,000. In British Columbia, the Nisgaüa Nation is represented by four villages:
Many Nisgaüa people have moved to cities for their opportunities. Concentrations are found in three urban areas outside traditional Nisgaüa territory:
On August 4, 1998, a land-claim was settled between the Nisgaüa, the government of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada. As part of the settlement in the Nass River valley, nearly of land was officially recognized as Nisgaüa, and a water reservation was also created. Bear Glacier Provincial Park was also created as a result of this agreement. The land-claim's settlement was the first formal treaty signed by a First Nation in British Columbia since the Douglas Treaties in 1854 (Vancouver Island) and Treaty 8 in 1899 (northeastern British Columbia). The land owned collectively is under internal pressures from the Nisgaüa people to turn it over into a system of individual ownership. This would have an effect on the rest of Canada in regards to First Nations lands.
The Tseax Cone in a valley above and east of the Ksi Sii Aks (formerly Tseax River) was the source for an eruption during the 18th century that killed approximately 2,000 Nisgaüa people from poisonous volcanic gases.
The government bodies of the Nisgaüa include the Nisgaüa Lisims government, the government of the Nisgaüa Nation, and the Nisgaüa village governments, one for each of the four Nisgaüa villages. The Nisgaüa Lisims government () is in the Nisgaüa Lisims Government Building in Gitlaxt'aamiks.
In 2011 the Nisgñaüa Museum, a project of the Nisgaüa Lisims government, opened in Laxñgñaltsüap. It contains many historical artifacts of the Nisgaüa people returned after many decades in major museums beyond the Nass Valley.