Gitxsan (also spelled
Gitksan) are an
indigenous people of Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the
Skeena Country in English (Git: means "people of" and Xsan: means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory encompasses approximately of land, from the basin of the upper
Skeena River from about Legate Creek to the Skeena's headwaters and its surrounding tributaries. Part of the
Tsimshianic language group, their culture is considered to be part of the civilization of the
Pacific Northwest Coast, although their territory lies in the
Interior rather than on the
Coast. They were at one time also known as the
Interior Tsimshian, a term which also included the
Nisga'a, the Gitxsan's neighbours to the north. Their neighbours to the west are the
Tsimshian (aka the Coast Tsimshian) while to the east the
Wet'suwet'en, an
Athapaskan people, with whom they have a long and deep relationship and shared political and cultural community.