Who are we?

The Gitksan Government Commission (GGC) was first incorporated as a not-for-profit society and registered in 1986.

GGC is governed by a Board of Directors representative of the elected body from each of the member Bands. The four member Bands are Gitanyow, Gitanmaax, Glen Vowell and Kispiox. As a group, the members of GGC are of the larger Gitksan Nation, and consists of two main dialects, Gitxsenimx (west) and Gitxsanimax (east). These communities are located in the central northwest of British Columbia along the Skeena, Kispiox and Kitwanga Rivers.

As a group, the members of the Gitksan Government Commission total a population of 5422 registered Band members. Most of our community members are young with the majority of the population under 30.  Each of the four communities are unique and have different needs and priorities for community well being. Check out each Band’s website for more information and see the local statistics page under Membership.

Photo by Jeff Holland

What do we do?

The four-member Bands have agreed to work collectively to secure a multi-year funding agreement with Indigenous Services Canada(ISC) . This agreement is called an ‘ARFA’ and provides the funding to GGC and for each member Band. Through this agreement GGC is responsible for providing technical,advisory and support services to the member Bands. One of the key benefits to a block funded agreement allows for the development of specific policy that is more beneficial and relevant than ISC policy. So far there are three areas that have – education, housing, and Social Development. With good fiscal and effective administration we have been able to continue with a block funded approach which in turn creates a more responsive and flexible administrative structure at the Band office level rather than working directly under ISC.

Where are we located?

The Gitksan communities are in the beautiful Kitwanga, Kispiox and Skeena watersheds. For more information about the Skeena watersheds, contact Gitksan Watershed Authority. For more information regarding the Gitksan Hereditary system or House system, and treaty negotiations contact the Gitksan Treaty Society.

NWCC provides a good map of all the First Nations from a northwest regional view. The map shown highlights the Hazelton area from the NWCC regional map.

Another map that highlights the language affiliation of indigenous people in BC is available at First People’s Heritage, Language and Cultural Center’s website.