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.
