A. N. CALDER & CO.
GENERAL STORE
NASS RIVER, B.C. (corner card cover)
Arthur Naguahohn (Na-qua-oon) Calder
(b. 1865 in Greenville, British Columbia - d. 8 January 1937 at age 72 in Greenville, British Columbia) - LINK to his newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-obituary-for...
LINK to a photo - Mr. Calder's House - Greenville, B.C. - search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/2009-10-3-30
(5 February 1963) - LINK to a newspaper article - Chief Arthur Calder / Chief Long Arm of the Nishgas - www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-chief-arthur-cald...
Lax̱g̱altsʼap got its English name of Greenville from Methodist Missionary Alfred Green, who was based here in the late 19th century. Lax̱g̱altsʼap translates to "village on village"—the current village was built on the site of a much older one. The older village at this site, known as Gitxatʼin, was destroyed by fire. Lax̱g̱altsʼap is situated on the north side of the Nass River between Gitwinksihlkw to the east and Ging̱olx to the west. It is approximately 24 km from where the Nass empties into the Pacific Ocean at Nass Bay.
His wife - Louisa (nee ?) Calder
(b. 1898 in British Columbia - d. 26 December 1943 at age 45 in Vancouver, British Columbia / Greenville, B.C.) - LINK to her death certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/5a...
Their adopted son - Frank Arthur Calder, OC, Nisga’a politician, chief, businessman
(b. 3 August 1915 in Nass Harbour, B.C. - d. 4 November 2006 in Victoria, BC). Frank Calder was the first Indigenous member of the BC legislature, elected in 1949. Calder is best known for his role in the Nisga’a Tribal Council’s Supreme Court case against the province of British Columbia (commonly known as the Calder case), which demonstrated that Aboriginal title (i.e., ownership) to traditional lands exists in modern Canadian law.
(6 April 1964) - LINK to a newspaper article - Frank Clark / Frank Calder was born to speak to his people - www.newspapers.com/article/nanaimo-daily-news-frank-clark...
In 1913, Arthur Calder (or Na-qua-oon, the traditional
chief of the Nisga'a Wolf Clan) and his wife, Louisa,
paddled down the Nass River to take a job at the newly
opened salmon cannery. On the way, their small son fell out
of the canoe and drowned. And so it happened (in a story
reminiscent of the biblical account of Elizabeth's
foretelling of the Immaculate Conception) that about 18
months later, an old woman in the village of Gingolx had a
powerful dream in which she visualized Louisa's youngest
sister, Emily, conceiving a son who would carry the "chiefly
spirit" of Na-qua-oon's dead child. That's why, in a
traditional adoption ceremony in 1915, Job and Emily Clark
gave their third son, Frank, to Arthur and Louisa to raise
as their own child. LINK - alt.obituaries.narkive.com/GeHhjE0E/frank-calder-politici...
In 1915, a Nisga'a matriarch had a dream in the village of Gingolx. Her dream was so powerful, she commanded a young man to row her 11 kilometers along the Nass River to the home of Chief Nagwa'un (Arthur Calder). She carried urgent news for the chief's wife, Louisa. The matriarch told Louisa that her youngest sister Emily was pregnant with her third child. She predicted that child would be male and would bear the spirit of the son Chief Nagwa'un and Louisa had lost earlier, drowned in the Nass. That baby boy was born on August 3, 1915, at Nass Harbour Cannery to Job and Emily Clark. By way of traditional adoption, he was raised by Chief Nagwa'un and Louisa Calder. As a baby, Frank Calder was presented to a gathering of elders discussing the issue of the Nisga'a Land Claim, a cause which some likened to an "immovable mountain". There, Chief Nagwa'un famously declared, "This boy is going to learn the laws of the k'amksiiwaa, the white people. And when he comes home he's going to move the mountain." At the age of seven, Frank was sent south to Coqualeetza Residential School at Sardis. He returned each summer, however, to fish the Nass with his father or work in the cannery. Frank's long and distringuished life was marked by a series of significant "firsts". He was the first status Indian to study at Chilliwack High School. The first admitted to the University of British Columbia. In 1949, Frank became the first Aboriginal person to be elected to British Columbia's legislature and the first appointed a Minister of the Crown in Canada. Frank served in the legislature for 26 years. In 1952, Frank addressed the legislature and reminded his fellow members that they are newcomers in this land. He began by speaking in the Nisga'a language, paused and said: "Mr. Speaker, for those who have arrived in B.C. more recently..." and continued in English. In 1955, after nearly a century, the Nisga'a Land Committee was reformed as the Nisga'a Tribal Council and it elected Frank its first president. He served for 20 years.
Among Frank's many awards and honours are:
Officer, Order of Canada
Aboriginal Order of Canada
Inductee to Canada's First Nations's Hall of Fame
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Laws
Licentiate in Theology
National Aboriginal Achivement Award, and
President Emeritus, Nisga'a Nation
Yet for all his work and honours, Frank Calder will forever be remembered for his roles in the settlement of the Nisga'a "Land Question" and the 1973 Supreme Court of Canada decision that bears his name. After the British Columbia Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal both rejected the claim, the case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada and led to the Calder Decision. This landmark decision established, for the first time, that Aboriginal Title exists in modern Canadian law. The decision not only opened the possibility of a new future for British Columbia's First Nations - it reverberated across Canada and around the world. It provided the legal foundation on which the B.C. treaty process started after 113 years of opposition by provincial and colonial authorities, and led to the landmark Nisga'a Final Agreement - British Columbia's first modern treaty. LINK to the complete article - www.nisgaanation.ca/news/honouring-our-past-dr-frank-calder
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KINCOLITH - village at the mouth of the Nass River was founded by Christian Nisgha in the last century. In pre-contact times the site was not settled, but people came here seasonally to gather shellfish and crabs. Because of its' importance as a food source and its' location at the mouth of the oolichan-rich Nass River, the place was at times contested between the various peoples of the area (Tsimshian, Haida, Nisgha), and violent incidents often took place. Spelling changed to Gingolx (Community) per Nisga'a Treaty, effective 11 May 2000. It was located about fifty miles north of Prince Rupert, B.C. - In 1947 the population was 365. LINK to a photo of the Village of Gingolx (Kincolith, BC) taken May 1923 - search.nbca.unbc.ca/uploads/r/northern-bc-archives-specia...
"KINCOLITH" is the anglicized spelling for the Nisga'a name, Gingolx, so named after an historic battle between the Nisga'a and the Haida, and following which the scalps of the defeated Haida were hung on poles and erected at this site on a rock bluff. This practice was carried out as a warning to any further raids. [Gin/ to feed, present, it could also mean 'place of'; golx/ scalp]. This site was originally the clan resource territory of the Gisk'aast, but was later turned over to the village for sustenance. And it was because of its importance as a food source - shellfish, salmon, etc - and its location at the mouth of the oolichan-rich Nass River that the Nisga'a were at times raided by other tribes in the surrounding area - the Tsimshian, Haida, and Tlingit. LINK - apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/38014.html
The KINCOLITH Post Office was established - 1 September 1907.
LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the KINCOLITH Post Office - recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record...
(16 May 1888) - LINK to a newspaper article - Kincolith Village / Lac-alt-sap (Greenville), B.C. - www.newspapers.com/article/nanaimo-daily-news-kincolith-v...
LINK to a map showing the distance from Greenville, British Ciolumbia to Kincolith (Gingoix), British Columbia - www.google.ca/maps/dir/Gingolx,+British+Columbia/Greenvil...
- entered the mail system at - / KINCOLITH / JAN 23 / 28 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A1-1) was not listed in the Proof Book - it was most likely proofed c. 1907 - (RF B).
- sent by registered mail - / R / KINCOLITH, B.C. / ORIGINAL No. (842) / - registered boxed handstamp in blue ink - R-1 (type 1) - was not listed in the Proof Book - (light strike).
12 cents Domestic Registered Letter Rate
2 cents Domestic Postage - 1 July 1926 to 30 June 1931
10 cents Registration fee - 15 July 1920 to 1 April 1951
- arrived at - / VANCOUVER / JAN 26 / 28 / B.C. / - cds arrival backstamp
Addressed to: Simson, Balkwell & Co. / Limited / 101 - 107 Powell Street / Vancouver, B.C.
Simson, Balkwell & Company Limited was an old and well-known firm, established in 1908, dealing in ship chandlery, engineering supplies and specialties.
(10 January 1929) - LINK to a newspaper article - Simson, Balkwell & Co. Merger with Gordon & Belyea Co. - www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-simson-balkw...
