Haida Oral Histories, Oratory, & Events Recordings Collection, 1913-1989 | Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives

By Zachary R. Jones, Archivist

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Collection Overview

Title: Haida Oral Histories, Oratory, & Events Recordings Collection, 1913-1989

ID: MC/034

Primary Creator: Haida Indians

Extent: 1.0 Boxes

Subjects: Haida Indians--History., Haida language.

Languages: English, Haida

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection contains various Haida Indian recordings, which consist of recorded oral histories, oratory, and events, such as cultural gatherings. These recordings document both the Haida of Alaska and British Columbia, and the recordings capture Haida speaking in both the English and Haida languages. These recordings have been obtained by SHI from various donors, and the collection will continue to grow as more recordings are obtained.

Subject/Index Terms

Haida Indians--History.
Haida language.

Administrative Information

Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives

Use Restrictions: Intellectual Properties Note: Since SHI adheres to the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials, and since we desire to honor Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian traditional cultural belief that clans retain the intellectual property rights to clan stories or songs, patrons who use or study clan songs or stories are asked to credit clan ownership to stories and songs.

Acquisition Source: Various donors

Acquisition Method: Item 1 was deposited with permission at SHI by the Archives of Traditional Music, Indian University on 12/15/2011; Items 2-16 were obtained by SHI prior to Oct. 2007; Item 17 was donated to SHI by the Alaska State Archives on April 11, 2012; Item 18 was donated by the Sealaska Corporation on 2/19/2013; Item 19 in this collection was purchase by SHI from Amazon.com on 2/21/2013;

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1: Recordings],
[All]

Box 1: Recordings

Item 1: Audio recording of Haida songs by John Welsey (Stahmai), Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands [Haida Gwaii], B.C., May 17 & 20, 1913. Collected by Edward S. Curtis. Format; CD copy of original wax cylinders; original cylinders in the possession of the Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University. Tracks 1-13: Items 17-29. 30 minutes in length. Items 17-24 were recorded May 17, 1913, Items 25-29 recorded May 20, 1913.: Content provided by the Archives of Traditional Music; Item 17) Dancing Song of Chief Skedans. "Wither am I going to travel?" (Hindahltunyakunsumshin dakoi? Eyo, eyo, eyo, haho!); 18) Initiate's Song; 19) Len [?] Dance; 20) Nuhl Christa; 21) Hagata's Dancer's Song. "Look at this! Here he is, the song who was doing that singing alone."; 22) Song of Laughter, Supernatural Being Mask; 23) Initiation Song. "Great supernatural being, come and draw up your tail." (The reference is the Eagle, which by raising its tail is to scatter its down.); 24) Tattooing Song "I should never have thought I would be in the condition I am now in." (The reference is to the great decrease in the numerical strength of the clan.); 25) Skalan Hola (Song Sweet) Love Song; 26) Chief’s Song in honor of an infant daughter, “You are a woman, you are a girl, you are the daughter of a noble family. You will be the girl for bringing out house-timbers from Skidegate Inlet." (That means, "a house will be built in your honor."); 27) Misfortune Song; 28) Ulala Song; and 29) Preparation for War.
Item 2: Audio recording, label reads “Songs with intro, Gladys Morrison,” undated, location unknown. Format; cassette. [Recorded in high speed, requires cassette player with speed control.] Previous call #; Item 1085.
Item 3: Audio recording, label reads “Helen Sanderson, Lunch with Ladies. 6-30-1989.” Content: Interview about Haida culture and language. Male and Female rite of passage into adulthood, adolescent and adult duties according to gender. Games. Earning a higher social status. Tattooing process. Clan houses. Clan names. Clan stories, migration stories including the move to Kasaan. Haida words from the Haida Dictionary. A school in Germany where everybody speaks Haida. Gospel songs sung in Haida. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1086.
Item 4: Audio recording, label reads “Helen Sanderson, visits with Stones End 394,” undated, location unknown. Content: Haida story about puppies who turned into human boys, a sea monster. Moldy forehead story. Bullhead story. Haida medicine and how to prepare them. Story of the women who married a bear. Story of tragedies such as death. Clan connections. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1087.
Item 5: Audio recording of an interview with Lane and Alice Kitkoon, undated, location unknown. Life and family history of Alice Kitkoon a Haida Elder. Haida customs. Salmon Story. Humorous Story. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1091.
Item 6: Audio recording of Louise Arrington, Margaret Cogo, and Lil Petville, dated 2-25-83, location unknown. Label for content reads “Raven finds water.” Format; cassette and CD [migrated in 2012]. Previous call #; Item 1148. Introduction in English, telling of story in Haida. 20 minutes in length.
Item 7: Audio recording labeled “When the Haida first met the Spanish Explorers,” undated, location unknown. Format; cassette and CD [migrated in 2012]. Previous call #; Item 1149. Speaking in Haida.
Item 8: Audio recording labeled; Side A: “Spanish People Story in English,” Side B: “Spanish People Story in Haida,” undated, location unknown. Format; cassette and CD [migrated in 2012]. Previous call #; Item 1150. Speaking in Haida and English.
Item 9: Audio recording labeled; Side A: “Spanish People in English,” Side B: “Spanish People in Haida,” undated, location unknown. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1151.
Item 10: Audio recording labeled “Lil [Pettviel] & Louise - Egg Story,” circa 1983, location unknown. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1152.
Item 11: Audio recording labeled “Lil Pettviel – 2 stories in Haida – Owl and Killerwhale,” dated 3/8/1983, location unknown. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1155.
Item 12: Audio recording labeled “Lil [Pettviel] tells D. Peele’s Raven Story,” 3/17/1983, location unknown. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1154.
Item 13: Audio recording labeled “David Peele, Raven and Frog Stories,” location unknown, 3/3/1983. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1153.
Item 14: Audio recording labeled “Copy of Margarate’s song,” circa 1983, location unknown. Format; cassette. Previous call #; Item 1153 also.
Item 15: Audio recording of interview of Haida elder Mrs. Carl telling traditional Haida stories, some from Skidegate, Nass, and Hydaburg and recounting her attendance of select potlatches, dated 10/3/1963. Interviewer is unidentified, but non-Native. Two thirds of recording concerns Mrs. Carl, then abruptly music was recorded over the remaining interview. Labeling reel reads “Mrs. Carl, Hyda tales.” 64 minutes in length. Format; original open reel and CD. Previous call #; Item 863. [original reel in oversize box 1]
Item 16: Audio recording of interview of Haida elder Mrs. Carl telling traditional Haida stories, continued from previous reel, 10/3/1963. Original reel label reads “Mrs. Carl, Haida, Frog in the Fire” and “Haida stories.” Total time 68 minutes. Format; original open reel and CD. Previous call #; Item 865. [original reel in oversize box 1]
Item 17: Audiovisual recording of Haida woman and nurse Genevieve R. Soboleff speaking about the importance of clean drinking water in Alaska, circa 1982. Format; DVD. Length 60 seconds.
Item 18: Two cassette recordings from the Shaan Seet Inc. elders dinner held in Craig, Alaska on 12/9/1986. Two cassettes.
Item 19: Audio recording entitled and produced as; Ida Halpern, Haida: Indian Music of the Pacific Northwest (Washington DC: Smithsonian Folkways Records, 2006). Format; CD (two discs). Contains various Haida songs, some sung by Mungo Martin, Tom Willie Johnson, Fred Louis, Ella Thompson, Mrs. Peter Kelly, and Florence Edenshaw Davidson.