Visitors to Nisg̱a’a Lands quickly become familiar with the image of Tx̱eemsim on signs and at heritage sites. Unique in Nisg̱a’a culture, Tx̱eemsim is the ideal ambassador for Nisg̱a’a Lands.
Long ago, Tx̱eemsim was sent to help the Nisg̱a’a. When Tx̱eemsim found that the people lived in darkness, he brought sunlight to the Earth. He made the tides and mountains, and provided many gifts, including the animals, fire, and Ḵ’alii-Aksim Lisims. Today, each bend and turn in the Nass River still follows the path of Tx̱eemsim’s journey.
Kind, generous, and humorous, Tx̱eemsim is also a trickster. An approachable demi-god, he is full of human failings—even as he demonstrates how these failings can be conquered. To ensure his hard-won wisdom did not go to waste, Tx̱eemsim wandered up and down the river, teaching the people he met. This was how our oral history began. An ancient and sophisticated code of laws, customs, and conduct, Ayuuḵhl Nisg̱a’a is the living record of our nation and our conception of the world.
The deeds and misdeeds of Tx̱eemsim show that every being in the universe has a rightful and meaningful part to play—and that we need one another. This is the foundation of Ayuuḵhl Nisg̱a’a.