Clans: All
Northwest Coastal Indians are divided up into two or more clans. You
could not marry someone from your clan. The Haida only had two clans.
Everyone was either born a Raven or an Eagle. When a baby was born, it
belonged to the mother's clan.
Marriage: When
a man wanted to marry a women, he had to pay her father a agreed
amount prior to the ceremony. The wife was given in partial payment
for this amount.
When their first child was born, the child became
a member of the mother's clan. The clan had to pay the husband a sum
equal to the marriage contract as for the child. This annulled the
marriage. At that point, a woman could stay or leave her husband as
she chose.
