WORLD VIEW
The Gitxsan have a certain way of looking at the world. It is different from the way the majority of newcomers to this land see the world. The Gitxsan world view affects the way we relate to the land, the way we live, the way we interact with other Gitxsan and our relationships with Lixs Giigyet (those who come from away).
It
is important for us to describe, generally, our world view to the Lixs
Giigyet. This is an important part of any consultation or negotiation
process. The federal and provincial governments, private companies, and
the Lixs Giigyet who live in the Gitxsan
Territories, must have a basic understanding of our vision. Then they
can fulfill their promise of consulting, negotiating and behaving in a
manner which recognizes and respects our way of life.
We are negotiating a new relationship with the Lixs Gii'gyet, their governments and private companies.
The Gitxsan world view is the foundation upon which we devise strategies to manage our territories. By making the Lixs Giigyet aware of our world view, we reduce their fear and create an understanding about the future under Gitxsan self-government.
Gitxsan World View
Anthropologists have long realized that a people’s world view is composed of two interrelated parts: first the notion of how the world is structured, of how its parts have been fashioned into a cohesive whole; second, a set of rules by which that structure is set into motion and of how that motion can be controlled or directed.
Western
world view sees the essential and primary interaction as being those between
human beings. We, the Gitxsan, believe that
human beings are part of an interacting continuum that includes animals
and spirits.
Animals and fish are viewed as members of societies that have intelligence
and power, and can influence the course of events in terms of their interrelationship
with human beings. This means that an event has the ability to cause or
produce another event as time moves forward. For the Gitxsan,
time is not linear but cyclical. The events of the past are not simply
history, but directly effect the present and future.
As humans and animals we all must die and if the spirit is treated with
appropriate respect we return through reincarnation. If bones of animals
and fish are not treated with that respect, thereby preventing their reincarnation,
then they will not return to give themselves up to humans. This way a
person’s actions not only interact with those of the animals and
the spirits, but also have repercussions for future generations, who could
be deprived of the food that will ensure survival.
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