The Ayaawx (Ts’msyen ancestral law) is rooted in spiritual principles connected to our ancestors and provides guidelines for the immediate and the future that is linked to the past in everyday relationships. The Ayaawx is as old as human relationships with the environment. Nisga’a educator, Bert McKay, along with many other (Indigenous) public speakers, emphasized that the Ayaawx was a gift from God. The social structure, authority, responsibility, and rites are all a part of the Ayaawx. The Adaawx (Ts’msyen sacred stories) give account of the origins of relationships with the supernatural world and the articulation of the principles of the Ayaawx. The principles of the Ayaawx are the backbone of feasts (potlatches) and conflict resolution. The principles of the Ayaawx are practical, a spiritual force awaiting a relationship with human beings.

—Excerpt from my doctoral dissertation published on-line in 2008

(https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/items/1acc1106-6261-406e-837b-556296741f94)