Chief - He was the chief of the Haida Indians from the Queen Charlotte Islands. After this Native American tribe had lost almost 90 percent of their population to European diseases such as small pox and measles, Christianity was forced upon them being told by Russian Orthodox and other Christian missionaries that Christianity was the only way for the the people to survive. Chief Sonihat relented and became a christian and the remainder of the tribe followed. What is left of the Haida Natives are located in the Tongass National Forest which is the largest national forest in the US. It was home of the Haida natives for thousands of years. The few remaining live in small costal villages and their culture is preserved at abandoned sites in the forest. The best is located at New Kasaan where in 1933, totems and the clan house constructed by Chief Sonihat were moved and perserved. Since 1971, renewed interest in Indian tradition has sparked a steady return to the old religion praticed by the natives for thousands of years.
Chief - He was the chief of the Haida Indians from the Queen Charlotte Islands. After this Native American tribe had lost almost 90 percent of their population to European diseases such as small pox and measles, Christianity was forced upon them being told by Russian Orthodox and other Christian missionaries that Christianity was the only way for the the people to survive. Chief Sonihat relented and became a christian and the remainder of the tribe followed. What is left of the Haida Natives are located in the Tongass National Forest which is the largest national forest in the US. It was home of the Haida natives for thousands of years. The few remaining live in small costal villages and their culture is preserved at abandoned sites in the forest. The best is located at New Kasaan where in 1933, totems and the clan house constructed by Chief Sonihat were moved and perserved. Since 1971, renewed interest in Indian tradition has sparked a steady return to the old religion praticed by the natives for thousands of years.
Bio by: Donald Greyfield
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