Roots

Where I come from

Gitxsan and Ts'msyen. Ganeda (Frog) Clan. Wilps Niisto. Born and raised in Terrace, on the traditional Ts'msyen Territory of the Kitselas First Nation.

So, lest the record be lost, I tell it that it may be written down and preserved.
Simoogit Neas-D-Hok, Walter Wright, my great-grandfather

Ama saa! Good day!

Sim gi gyat Si gi dim haa nak' gant' K'u ba wil xsit xw Ansipsiibinxws: Chiefs, Matriarchs, and children of chiefs, beloved people, friends, loved ones
'Tsinsxw Gapiikxw, hl we'y: My name means “flying off into the night”
Ganeda, Frog, hl pdeega'y: I belong to the frog clan
Wilps Niisto win sa witxswi'y: I belong to the house of Niisto
Pat Wright, hl we noo'y: My mother's name is Pat Wright
Elmer Wright Sr. nee Wilfred Derrick hl wes nigwoodi'y: My dad's name is the late Elmer Wright Sr. and Wilfred Derrick
Gloria Wesley nee Louisa Wright hl we nits'iitsi'y: My grandmothers were the late Gloria Wesley and the late Louisa Wright
Herb Wesley nee George Wright hl wes niye'ey: My grandfathers were the late Herb Wesley and the late George Wright

Ganeda · Frog

My name'Tsinsxw Gapiikxw

It means “flying off into the night.” I carry my mother's traditional standing and name as a Matriarch (among us). My full title is Sigidim Hana'ak 'Tsinsxw Gapiikxw.

Our family line

Four generations on this land

Our family has lived, worked and led on this territory for generations. These are some of the people I come from.

Great-grandfather

Simoogit Neas-D-Hok, Chief Walter George Wright

Known as Niistaxo'ok. His stories were recorded in Men of M'deek by Will Robinson, as told by Walter Wright.
Grandparents

George & Louisa Wright, Herb & Gloria Wesley

My grandparents George and Louisa Wright both survived residential school. My grandfather George took over the Copper River Ferry.

On my mother's side, my late grandfather Herb Wesley held the name Guxsen and was a high-ranking chief among the Gitxsan.
Parents, aunts & uncles

Pat Wright and Elmer Wright Sr.

My late father, Elmer Larry Wright, was born in 1939. My uncle Ralph Wright was born on Ferry Island during the big flood of 1936, and went on to serve many years as elected Chief Councillor of Kitselas.
Today

Lynn Wright, 'Tsinsxw Gapiikxw

I raised my four children here in Terrace. I served two terms in governance with Kitselas, and today I carry that work into my businesses and my community.

Politics is in our family's blood

My great-grandfather Simoogit Neas-D-Hok Walter Wright, my grandfather George Wright Sr., my father Elmer Wright Sr., my uncles Ralph, Gary and George Wright Jr., and family still serving today have all held elected office with Kitselas First Nation. I'm proud to be part of that line.

A little Terrace history

Where our family and Terrace meet

Kitselas and Kitsumkalum have called the Skeena Valley home for thousands of years, long before this place had the name Terrace.

Thousands of yearsKitselas and Kitsumkalum live, govern and harvest along the Skeena.
1892My great-grandfather Walter Wright's sister, Eliza, marries Tom Thornhill, the first settler in the Kitselas area. Thornhill carries his name.
1905George Little arrives and lays out the townsite.
1910Little names the town Terrace.

First Nations and settler families crossing paths, sometimes marrying into each other's lives, and building something together in the same valley. That history shapes how I see this community today.

Culture in my hands