Introduction
Though there are many individuals who could easily qualify as being a Gitxsan, one person, Russell Collier, has distinguished himself by creating an online identity known in many places as "thegitksan".
Russell was born in Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, in 1957. At present, he is one of Canada's top aboriginal land use planners and GIS mappers. Russell maintains a strong interest in indigenous politics, court cases, land use planning techniques and methodologies, and, in a personal arena, form poetry.
His Gitxsan name is Hli Gyet Hl Spagayt Sagat, which roughly translates as "the man who comes down from the sharp-pointed mountain". The English, "Mountainman" is an entirely acceptable alternative.