Tsimshian

Member of an American Indian people who live in Canada, along the shores of the Pacific, facing the Queen Charlotte Islands. They live mainly by hunting and fishing. The number about 6,000 (1996) and their language belongs to the Penutian language family.

In winter the Tsimshian traditionally trapped salmon and candlefish, valuable for their oil, and lived in permanent settlements of wooden houses decorated with carvings and paintings of family symbols. In winter they dispersed into family hunting camps. The Tsimshian were divided into four clans that were further divided into lineages which traced descent through the female line. The lineages, which were ranked relative to one another, had their own chiefs and ceremonies. The chief of the highest ranking lineage was the chief of the tribe. As with other west coast tribes the Tsimshian practised the potlatch ceremony and were well known for their highly conventionalized art, and totem poles.

Tsimshian

Branch of the American Indian Penutian language family.