The Alaskan Haida
Around the mid 1700’s one of the groups of the Haida people were driven off of their lands in the Queen Charlotte Islands and moved to Alaska by warfare with one of their neighboring tribes. This land in Alaska was previously owned by the Russians who were soon sold Alaska in 1867 to the U.S government for $7.2 million. Gold was discovered in Alaskan territories in 1889 and many settlers started to invade their territory in search of it. Many of their people lost their lands and access to the hunting and fishing grounds, and were forced to participate in the growing economy of fishing and logging for American companies.
The U.S. Bureau of Education and the Presbyterian church was determined to “Educate and civilize” the Haida and teach them the white ways. In 1911 these people created a mission called Hydaburg, the U.S government had no support in this. These people forced three Haida villages to live in this town to be changed to the white ways. The Haida Indians along with many other tribes from that region were forced to move there. In the 1990’s many of the Haida people left the Hydaburg to find employment in larger cities.
The Queen Charlotte Island Haida
In fear of losing all their land to the increasing number of Canadian settlers invading their lands, in 1854 they signed a treaty with the Canadian Government. The treaty made them give up most of their lands including hunting and fishing locations, in return the government allowed them to keep their villages and rights to hunt and fish in their new territories. In 18721 British Colombia became part of Canada, and the Government moved all the Haida Indians to two reservations one near the town of Masset and the other in the town of Skidegate.
Impact of the Whites on Their Religion
After many of the Haida Indians moved to their reservations and villages in Canada and American borders, many of the people pressured them to change their ways. Many Christians leaders, teachers, and Canadian officials pressured the Haida people to adopt “the whites way of life”. In 1884 the Canadian Government banned potlaches ( which was the ceremony of gift giving) and Haida dances. Christian Missionaries tried to convince the people that carving totems poles were evil.
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