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The name of our dance group, Git Hayetsk, means the people of the copper shield in Sm’algyax which is spoken by the Nisga’a, Tsimshian, and Gitxsan Nations. Our dancers are bonded by their common ancestry to the Sm'algyak speaking peoples with distinctions in their family ties to the Haida, Tlingit, Haisla, and Musqueam Nations. Our home and ancestral villages are located in Southeast Alaska, Vancouver BC and along the coastline of the Terrace-Prince Rupert area including the Nass and Skeena Rivers. The inspiration for our name is the copper shield. It is the most prestigious form of ceremonial wealth among the Northern Nations of the Northwest Coast. Owned by only the most high status people in our culture, it is made out of hand-pounded copper ranging in size from several inches to 4 feet tall. Its standard composition represents an ancestral being with its ribs and back bone made prominent by the raised T-shape in the center. Of its many meanings, copper shields also symbolize wealth, prestige, power, strength, and peace. As our ancestors have since time immemorial, we bring out copper shield at our ceremonies today to assert our hereditary rights and privileges. We, the Git Hayetsk Dancers, challenge ourselves to continue to practice the artistry and cultural wealth to the standards that is embodied by copper shield as we live out our lives in the area of Coast Salish territory that is now called Vancouver, British Columbia.
To book the Git Hayetsk Dancers or for further information please contact Mike Dangeli or Mique’l Askren.
Mike Dangeli
Artist/Carver/ Dance Group Leader
House of Culture Artist Studio