The school in Masset will have a fitting name this fall when its hallways start bustling with students all the way from kindergarten to Grade 12.
The school name, Daaxiigan Sk’adáa Née, is Xaad Kil for Daaxiigan Learning House.
Daax̱iigan was the first of many Haida names held by Charles Edenshaw, a renowned Haida artist and chief who lived from 1839 to 1920. Meaning “noise in the house pit,” the name was given to him as an infant.
Born in Skidegate, Edenshaw was a member of the Stastas Eagle clan and one of the first professional Haida artists. He apprenticed with his uncle John Robson in the village of Kung and then in Masset.
A survivor of the 1862 smallpox epidemic, Edenshaw was a preeminent Haida artist at a time when Haida cultural practice was seriously disrupted by epidemics and by the 1885 Canadian government ban on potlatching. His descendants include several of the best known Haida artists working today.
A sound recording with the correct pronunciation of Daax̱iigan Sḵ’adaa Née can be played on the School District 50 website. Look for it on the Schools page for Gudangaay Tlaats’gaa Naay.
Edenshaw was also the namesake of Tahayghen Elementary School, which is due to close at a ceremony scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 20.
Members of the Daaxiigan Sk’adaa Nee naming committee include Jaskwaan Bedard; Candace Weir; Tammy Gates; Merle Anderson; Ameleia Pennier, Jaasaljuus Yakgujanaas; and Ian Keir, principal of Gudangaay Tlaats’gaa Naay.