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Tsimshian Society and Culture
Wealth and Rank
Coppers
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Painted in the mid-1800s by a resident of Fort Simpson, Fred Alexcee.
A man in a bear costume displays a copper shield, while performing at
a feast. The bear probably was the crest of the chief holding the feast.
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Coppers denoted the high rank of
their owners and were the most highly prized symbol of wealth. Faces were
often engraved on the upper half of a copper, and there was always a
horizontal and a vertical line forming a "T" shape on the lower
half. This "T" shape represented the "bones" of the copper.
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