Jeffrey, William G. (1899 - 1995)

William George Jeffrey was born in 1899 on the traditional trapping and fishing grounds at Gitzima'deen', a small village near Prince Rupert, where his tribe, the Git'Chees, lived and worked. His father and mother were both tribal chiefs, so by birthright he was destined to become a hereditary chief of the Git'Chees. During his time in leadership, he helped to found the Native Brotherhood of British Columbia. He was elected by the Native Brotherhood of Canada to represent 'Indian problems' to the government in Ottawa. His appointment and subsequent visit to Ottawa bestowed him the opportunity to become the first Indigenous man to set foot inside the Canadian House of Parliament. He was also known as Chief Laase of the Git'wil'gyots. According to William White (Tsimshian weaver): his main crest was killer whale; another was grizzly. His wife Elsie brought the wolf, raven, and frog crests into the family. He mainly lived in Port Simpson, but in later years moved to Vancouver, where he died. He carved many reproductions of poles (many of them Haida) for outdoor display in Prince Rupert--there is a photograph of him carving a pole in "Totem Poles of Prince Rupert" (Hassett & Drew 1982) on page 10, as well as photos of some of the poles (from the 1960s?) on pages 24, 30-35, 37-44, 46-47. One of his poles was selected for the 1971 BC Centennial.