Spirit (Stargate)

The Spirits are an alien race encountered in SG1 and one of the few races who can stand up to the Goa'uld.

Physiology and Abilities
Appearing mostly human, their faces are dominated by a set of gills instead of a nose. They are capable of altering their appearance to whatever they chose; be it human or animal. It is unknown if this ability is innate or technological.

They are capable of "banishing" a target with a gesture causing the target to disappear in flash of light. Where the target goes to is unknown, though those brought back claim they were sent to a place of nothing.

If one of their own is injured a group can heal the individual in a similar manner to the healing methods of the Nox.

History
Hundreds of years prior to the series the Spirit homeworld was visited by the Goa'uld who intended to mine the planet with Salish Indian slaves. After a time the Spirits "removed" the Goa'uld from their planet, freeing the slaves. Not sure what to do with the humans but understanding they were victims in the incident, they decided to allow the Salish to remain under their protection. In order to avoid tampering with the Salish any further than the Goa'uld, the aliens adapted their forms to that of the Salish Indian Spirits. Thereby allowing them to watch over the humans without any disturbance.