Haida tribe presentation

1. HAIDA TRIBE
By Orli Feder

2. I’ll start with what “Haida” means. It is pronounced “hi-
da” and means Xayda which means person. The
Haida Indians lived in both southern Alaska and British
Columbia, particularly the Haida gwaii archipelago and
Prince of Wales Island. In Canada there are two
separate Haida communities called Masset and
Skidate. Each have their reserved place that is legally
their land, however the Haidas are also Canadian
citizens so they have to follow all Canadian laws.
Alaska natives live in one community in Hydaberg.
The Haidas have a very organized community with laws
and a government.

3. Kids play all the time. However, older kids have more
chores than playtime. The kids have dolls, toys, and
games. Like many native Americans Haida mothers
traditionally carried their babies in cradleboards on
their backs.

4. The Haidas have a
very organized
community with
laws and a
government.

5. Haida women gathered plants and herbs,
wove baskets and clothes, and did most of
the child care and cooking.

6. Men were fishermen and
hunters and sometimes
went to war to protect
their families. Both
genders took part in
storytelling, artwork,
music and traditional
medicine.

7. The Haidas lived in rectangular cedar plank
houses with bark roofs. Usually these houses
were as large as one hundred feet long and
each fit up to fifty people (a whole clan). Also
Haidas at war lived in teepees.

8. Haida men wore breechcloths and long cloaks.
Women wore knee length skirts and poncho-
like capes. In winter Haidas wore moccasins
and heavy caribou robes. Haidas wore basket
hats made of finely woven spruce root. The
Haidas painted their hats which displayed a
person’s status and family connections like we
do now on Facebook in modern times.

9. Haida artists are known for their fine basketry
and wood carving art, including carved masks
and spectacular totem poles.

10. The Haidas would frequently trade with other
tribes of the Northwest coast, particularly the
Tlingit and Tzimshian (Tsim-she-am) tribes.
They had festivals called potlatch. That is where
modern day people got the idea of potluck.
Chiefs and he wealthy Haidas got big things like
wooden canoes. There are lots of traditional
Haida legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very
important to the Haida’s Indian culture.

11. The end!