The Tsimshian 3: Corey Moraes on Meaning and Cultural Knowledge (3)
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2023/11/01
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the interview.*
*Interview conducted on May 10, 2020.*
Abstract
Corey Moraes is Tsimshian. He was born April 14, 1970, in Seattle, Washington. He has worked in both the U.S.A. and in Canada. He has painted canoes for Vision Quest Journeys (1997). He was featured in Totems to Turquoise (2005), Challenging Traditions (2009), and Continuum: Vision and Creativity on the Northwest Coast (2009). He earned the 2010 Aboriginal Traditional Visual Art Award and Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. His trademark artistic works are Coastal Tsimshian style with gold jewellery, limited edition prints, masks, silver jewellery, and wood carvings. Moraes discusses: meaning of Tsimshian; original language; abalone; populated areas; cultural knowledge deterioration; chiefly titles; William Duncan; treaty process; and comprehensive treaty agreement stalled.
Keywords: abalone, Alaska, Asia, Corey Moraes, culture, Europeans, Eyak, Haida, language, Lax Kw’alaams, Prince Rupert, Skeena River, Terrace, Tlingit, Tsimshian, William Duncan.
The Tsimshian 3: Corey Moraes on Meaning and Cultural Knowledge (3)
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: One question I should have touched on. Why does Tsimshian mean “inside the Skeena River”?
Corey Moraes: Our people, all of our terminology, our names for things had to do with where we were, e.g., Lax Kw’alaams means “people of wild roses,” which is what is grown in abundance in the area.
Jacobsen: Is learning the original language a big part of contemporary culture?
Moraes: It is a big part of the future for us to survive as a race and a demographic language. I’ve explained before. We say words or phrases that don’t translate literally into English. So, you’re losing a lot. You’re losing the language.
Jacobsen: What is the backbone of all the carving, e.g., abalone?
Moraes: The backbone of our carving is red cedar and yellow cedar.
Jacobsen: What is abalone?
Moraes: Abalone used to be in abundance. It has since been overhunted and over-gathered, all of which went to Asia.
Jacobsen: Why is that?
Moraes: They have a penchant for abalone meat. The industry here saw they could make much money by catering to Asian tastes. That’s where the lion’s share of it went.
Jacobsen: Are there more populated communities in Terrace, Prince Rupert, or just general Alaska?
Moraes: I need to find out the general population numbers. In going to villages around Terrace, Prince Rupert, and even Southeast Alaska, there is only one place with Tsimshian. The rest is either Tlingit & Haida or Eyak.
I stated this before. I decided to go into an area where they were steeped in cultural knowledge. They are not. The cultural understanding – 20 years ago – is primarily in a significant metropolis like Vancouver.
Jacobsen: Do you think the cultural knowledge has deteriorated further?
Moraes: There is a village mentality, “Who are you to tell me what to do?” They are very secluded. They are very nepotistic. They don’t treat outsiders very well. That includes members who come back to the village.
They don’t want you there, which is sad. Another example, a staunch example, Prince Rupert, is currently, at least within the last year or two, trying to commission artists to create a village atmosphere at their airport. They’re expanding.
They have a Vancouver architect in charge of fleshing out this vision with Tsimshian artists. They specifically want Tsimshian. The top Tsimshian artists, myself included, have backed off the project based on the scope.
So, they will end up with those village artists; they need to learn more about our historical forms to properly represent them in a public forum. That’s what they are going to end up with. I turned it down. Phil Gray turned it down. Morgan Green turned it down.
On top of that, a political aspect interfered with the visual scope of what they wanted to do. It was all centered around Lelu Island, the LNG Pipeline. Myself, I remain neutral on the subject. Phil Gray erected a totem pole on Lelu Island, and since it is not a designated reserve area or considered part of British Columbia, it is still an unceded territory.
He erected it without the approval of the Canadian government, and the government is threatening to remove the totem pole. There’s nothing on that island. There’s nothing on it. They had a shack that the protestors were using.
They’ve since gone against provincial law, and they’re trying to erect a cabin there right now. It is a mess up North. Art could be better.
Jacobsen: For ceremonial purposes, why are chiefly titles still used?
Moraes: You’re talking about hereditary chief titles, as opposed to elected chiefs.
Jacobsen: Yes.
Moraes: Elected chiefs are part of the colonial system. It is like being elected a mayor. But the hereditary chiefs, by and large, the villagers believe in that blood lineage that retains an element of power. Even though I’m afraid I have to disagree with it myself, irrespective that there are hereditary chiefs, they are irresponsible.
Just because your family came from outstanding stock six generations or eight generations back, much of it has been diluted. It goes hand in hand with what I said about the villagers and their accurate knowledge of traditional systems.
Jacobsen: In 1862, William Duncan, an Anglican missionary, established a Christian settlement in Metlakatla. We discussed some of the impacts of European Christian colonialism before.
Aside from the symbolic similarities between the symbolisms used between the religious or the spiritual traditions, why did several Tsimshian join Duncan?
Moraes: Like I said, the similarities between our spiritual systems, like the Nax’Nox, which resembled angels, for example. For example, our creation stories reached the baby Jesus and our desire to be the most progressive nation on the coast.
They thought it was the next logical and decisive step to completely abandon all of their belief systems and grab hold of both ends of Christianity. Because they felt if they did that, they would be the ruling power on the coast.
That was further from the truth. William Duncan had a strong sway over the villagers as it was developing. He wanted to avoid the Canadian government having their hand in his vision for this nation.
So, they scouted out land in Southeast Alaska and found an area that eerily resembled Metlakatla, BC. He convinced a large portion of them to leave with him. So, he could continue this vision unabated without the interruption of the Canadian government and everyone.
This whole thing is thing is even more creepy because my wife is from Metlakatla, Alaska. They call it “New Metlakatla.” In some ways, just like everything else, there are a lot of pros and cons. The pros were that they were evil to achieve what they thought they could do, which was to become more progressive.
It means they accepted a lot of colonial ideas. There are a lot of churches in Metlakatla, Alaska. There are a lot of people. Most people in Metlakatla believe in God’s doctrine and buy into it with just as much enthusiasm as they did leaving.
There is a particular tribe of Metlakatla Alaskan people. They left behind the village ways like there are in Northern BC. There needs to be more forward-thinking. There is a lot of nepotism. What happened there was an army base established there, a US Army base, because of its proximity to Russia.
Alongside military occupation came a lot of business. It was a thriving community for several generations. That all ended. They had their airport. Right? Their downtown had paved roads and established businesses.
I visited Lax Kw’alaams, my home village, for example, in 2001. All of the roads were still dirt, with lots of potholes. Since then, they have paved all of the streets. That’s how long it took for any sort of progressive community.
Jacobsen: Why did it take until 1991 for the Council to officially enter a British Columbia treaty process?
Moraes: Are you talking about Nisga’a?
Jacobsen: It was about the seven bands all together.
Moraes: You’re talking about the allied Tsimshian bands.
Jacobsen: Yes, in 1997, there was a framework for the comprehensive treaty agreement between the original seven bands and the Government of British Columbia. Then, this was stalled in some process at some point. Any background knowledge about that?
Moraes: There’s a lot of placating that the Canadian government does with the tribes by funnelling millions of dollars through the band councils, and a good portion of that, unfortunately, because there wasn’t transparency, meant a lot of misuse of funds.
A lot of those funds went to the head chief and his family, and anyone in the office was his family or his friends – a lot of nepotism. It is almost what the Canadian government wants to see. This divide and conquer mentality. What if we lead them and throw this chunk of money at the bands yearly? The problem will take care of itself.
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