Hishok, Tseshaht Whaling, One With the Whale Spirit

By Tseshaht First Nation

This book entitled “Hishok - Tseshaht whaling; one with the whale spirit”, was researched and authored by Tseshaht First Nation. Since the beginning of time at the island of C`is?aa (sis-shaa), a place on what is known today as Benson Island one of the Broken Group Islands in central Barkley Sound where Kapkimiyis created our first Tseshaht ancestors, Nasiyato and Naasiathlim, that is when Kapkimyis’s traditional hishok teachings began, as a result the Tseshaht grew to become a strong nation with great whalers and providers.

Whaling was a highly prestigious activity and as such was restricted to Hawilth or King. After a successful hunt, the whale would be towed back to a main village such as C`is?aa, where traditional butchering took place on the beach at low tide. the blubber and meat from a hunted whale would be traditionally allocated only to the King and his crew.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329117334

Book preview

Hishok, Tseshaht Whaling, One With the Whale Spirit

Hishok - Tseshaht Whaling; One With the Whale Spirit

By Tseshaht First Nation

We hope you will benefit from the insite into the history of the Tseshaht First Nation. Read to your children.

First Edition

ALW Publishing, Port Alberni, B.C.

Hishok - Tseshaht whaling; one with the whale spirit

Copyright © 2015 by Tseshaht First Nation

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may use brief excerpts in a review. For more information, please contact ALW PUBLISHING.

ALW PUBLISHING

7121 Pacific Rim Highway

Port Alberni, BC

Canada V9Y 8Y4

www.alwpublishing.com

Research by Tseshaht First Nation

Typeset by Annie Laurie Watts

Supported by both the Department of Canadian Heritage and First Peoples’ Cultural Council.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Hishok - Tseshaht whaling; one with the whale spirit / Tseshaht First Nation. - First edition.

ISBN 978-1-329-11733-4 (ebook)

1. Nootka Indians--Hunting--British Columbia--Barkley

Sound--History. 2. Whaling--British Columbia--Barkley Sound--

History. 3. Tseshaht First Nation--History. 4. Barkley Sound

(B.C.)--History. I. Tseshaht First Nation, author II. Title: Tseshaht

whaling; one with the whale spirit.

Acknowledgements

Tseshaht First Nation

Tseshaht First Nation would like to express their deepest gratitude to both the Department of Canadian Heritage and First Peoples’ Cultural Council for their support.

Department of Canadian Heritage

First Peoples’ Cultural Council

To the Department of Canadian