Haisla

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The Haisla (also Xa’islak’ala, X̄a’islak̕ala, X̌àʔislak̕ala, X̄a’islak’ala, X̣aʔislak’ala, Xa'islak'ala) are a First Nations people living at Kitamaat in British Columbia. Their indigenous Haisla language is named after them. The Kitimaat Village, the Haisla reserve, is a short 20 minute drive south of the town of Kitimat at the head of the Douglas Channel, a 90-km (56-mi) saltwater corridor that connects the community to the Pacific Ocean.

1 Language
2 Repatriation
3 External links
4 Bibliography

[edit] Language

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Haisla is a North Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language spoken by several hundred people. Haisla is geographically the northernmost Wakashan language. Its nearest Wakashan neighbor is Oowekyala. Haisla is related to the other North Wakashan languages, Oowekyala, Heiltsuk, and Kwakiutl.

The name Haisla is derived from the Haisla word x̣àʔisla or x̣àʔisəla '(those) living at the rivermouth, living downriver'.

The Haisla language consists of two dialects (or sublanguages):

Kitamaat
Kitlope (also known as X̣enaksialak’ala)

[edit] Repatriation

In 2006, the Haisla First Nation repatriated a sacred totem pole from Sweden's Museum of Ethnography, after a lengthy international campaign [1]. Their successful efforts were documented in a film by Aboriginal filmmaker Gil Cardinal, entitled "Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole".

[edit] External links

www.haisla.ca Haisla Nation website
The Haisla Languages (Emmon Bach's page)
- Haisla text: Dyeing (as told by Jeffrey L. Legaic) (includes .WAV sound file)
X̄a’islak̕ala / X̌àʔislak̕ala / X̄a’islak’ala (Haisla) (Chris Harvey’s Native Language, Font, & Keyboard)
- X̄a’islak̕ala / X̌àʔislak̕ala / X̄a’islak’ala (Haisla) Example Text
Bibliography of Materials on the Haisla Language (YDLI)

[edit] Bibliography

Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.