Our Origin Stories
The Kwakwaka’wakw are divided up into many tribes, each of these tribes are separated up into ‘Nał’na̱mima (clans). The Ma’a̱mtagila have 3 remaining ‘Na̱mima. The Ha̱mata̱m, the Gixsa̱m, and the Hayaliki̱wa’yi. The Ma’a̱mtagila name derives from the ancestor ‘Matagila. The name Madiłbe’ means “living on a point.”
Chief Makwala Rande Cook with some of our Nation’s treasures
Origin Stories are the foundation of Ma’amtagila law & Life
Kwakwaka’wakw history can be divided up into three different eras.
Creation Time — the time when the world was created, the waters, the stars, and so on.
Myth Time — the time of ancestors, as they interacted with other ancestors and supernatural beings. This includes the Flood Time as well.
Common Era — the period of time from the myth time to the modern day.
learn A few of our Origin Stories:
Our Totem Pole with the extended wings
A few ways to tell the story
“The seagull was the original mythical origin of the Kwago’ł band. The seagull had a man-child. He used a trap to catch birds. He saw an eagle sitting on top of the tree and he heard it calling, calling continuously. The eagle then came down and was caught in the trap. The man took it from the trap and used the eagle to help him to build a house. As soon as he got the house completed he would send the eagle away to call the other people to come to his house so that he could give away to them. This occurred at Gwa’dzi, which is now known as Hardy Bay. The open mouth and the figure signify ‘I will hit anyone who tries to get ahead of me’. The eagle is put up with his wings extended like a flag to call all the people together to Potlatch.”
From Franz Boas & George Hunt:
“The house of ‘Matagila has coppers on each side of the door. The posts in the rear represents eagles surmounting grizzly bears. Those in front show men with cedar bark head rings surmounting grizzly bears. They are speaking posts called Wa’waximił and Gagimił.
“Another version of this house says: ‘Ma’a̱mtagila. The front board of the house is painted with 1 coppers, one on each side of the door of the house. The posts on each side of the rear are grizzly bears, below on the floor, and eagles sitting on the heads of the grizzly bears, and there is a copper on the chest of each eagle. And on the grizzly bear also stands a man, and red cedar bark is around the heads of the men. They are speaking posts and therefore the two posts on each side of the door of the houses are named ‘speaking posts’. These were obtained as supernatural treasures by Lakwagila at the river of Kodagala. This is the great house name Nimsgam’salatƗilas. There are four houses dishes in the large house, two eagle dishes, and one grizzly bear dish and one wolf dish.”
Please Note:
This text was compiled and prepared by Matthew Ambers and Rande Cook, with assistance from Maxine Matilpi, William Wasden Jr, and Stan Hunt Jr.
If you see something in here that you disagree with, or you would like to add something, please reach out to us!