Xaad Kihlgaa Hl Suu.u Society


Haida Heritage and Repatriation Society
The Haida Heritage and Repatriation Society has been together since 1998. This committee is made up of elders, youth, artists and language and culture advocates. They have a history of creating award-winning projects such as the Haida Spirits of the Sea and Our World~Our Way of Life and Haida Memories websites.

Their proudest accomplishment was repatriating over 450 of our ancestors’ remains from North American museums. The Society is still passionately searching for Haida human remains in museums around the world and private collections.

In 2009 the Society looks forward to partnering with the Pitt Rivers Museum for a research trip. A delegation will visit the ancient Haida collections in Oxford and in the British Museum.

The HHRS is passionate about creating outstanding projects such as the Haida Legends Project.

XKHS is the umbrella Haida language organization for the northern Haida dialect. The Society strives
to preserve and honour the Haida language. The Society assists the Xaad Kil Gwaaygangee (language nest), the school programs, the Simon Fraser University Haida language proficiency program and other programs. XKHS enjoys working with the Skidegate and Alaska language groups as well.

The Haida language is a Language Isolate unique to the people of Haida Gwaii and southern Alaska. The Haida language, like most other Aboriginal languages of British Columbia is in a difficult state.

In Old Massett, there are less than a dozen fluent speakers, all of whom are in their 70s and 80s. Many of these elders are passionately working to preserve their mother tongue. The last fluent elders go between the schools, recording room, language nest and adult classes because of their love of Xaad Kil. We give thanks to the fluent Haida language teachers of today: Primrose Adams, Stephen Brown, Emily Geortzen, Claude Jones, Mary Swanson, and Nina Williams and we give thanks to the elders who have passed on but had the foresight to record their stories.

This project is one way for us to keep our storytelling tradition and Xaad Kil, the Old Massett
dialect alive.