The Nuxalk people (

Nuxalk The Nuxalk people ( Nuxalk: ''Nuxalkmc''; pronounced )'','' also referred to as the Bella Coola, Bellacoola or Bilchula, are an Indigenous First Nation of the Pacific Northwest Coast, centred in the area in and around Bella Coola, British Co ...

: ''Nuxalkmc''; pronounced )'','' also referred to as the Bella Coola, Bellacoola or Bilchula, are an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of the Pacific Northwest Coast, centred in the area in and around

Bella Coola, British Columbia Bella Coola is a community in the Bella Coola Valley, in British Columbia, Canada. ''Bella Coola'' usually refers to the entire valley, encompassing the settlements of Bella Coola proper ("the townsite"), Lower Bella Coola, Hagensborg, Salloom ...

. Their language is also called

. Their on-reserve tribal government is the

Nuxalk Nation The Nuxalk Nation is the band government of the Nuxalk people of Bella Coola, British Columbia. It is a member of the Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council, and until March 2008 was a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. ...

Name and tribes/groups

The name "Bella Coola", often used in academic writing, is not preferred by the Nuxalk; it is a derivation of the neighbouring Wakashan-speaking coastal

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

people's name for the Nuxalk as ''bəlxwəlá'' or ''bḷ́xʷlá'', meaning "stranger" (rendered plxwla in Nuxalk orthography). Within the Nuxalk language, "Nuxalkmc" is the term for the people, and "ItNuxalkmc" is the term for the language, and these terms are increasingly being used in English locally. The Nuxalk peoples, known today collectively as Nuxalkmc, are made up of lineages representing several ancestral villages within their territory. From Kimsquit, known as ''Sutslhm'' in the Nuxalk language, come the Sutslhmc. From the

Dean River The Dean River is one of the major rivers of the Kitimat Ranges subrange of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia. It begins at Aktaklin Lake on the Chilcotin Plateau and winds north around the Rainbow Range to enter Dean Channel at th ...

come the Nutl'lmc, as well as lineages from the upper Dean River. From ''

South Bentinck Arm South Bentinck Arm is a long side-inlet of Dean Channel in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. At the north end of the arm it meets the North Bentinck Arm and then the Dean Channel before flowing into the Burke Channel. Rivers T ...

'' (Ats'aaxlh) come the Talyumc of

Tallheo Tallheo is the location of a former village of the Nuxalk known as Talyu, and is a former cannery town near Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada, on North Bentinck Arm. Tallheo is also the name of the dialect of the Nuxalk language spoken by the ...

, from the villages at the Nuwikw, Talyu and Asiiqw rivers. From Kw'alhna/Kwatna,

Kwatna Inlet This is a list of Nuxalk villages. By 1953 there were only two bodies of Nuxalk left: The Kimsquit, on Dean Inlet; and the Bella Coola, at the mouth of Bella Coola River. Older writers speak of the Nuhalk (Nuxalk), which was the name of the Bell ...

, come the Kwalhnmc, from several villages. From King Island (Ista) come the Istamc, and from the

Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the Pacific slope of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia. The town of Bella Coola is at its mouth on North Bentinck Arm. Bella Coola Indian Reserve No. 1 the location of the main community ...

(Nuxalk) come the Nuxalk-mc, from some twenty five Nuxalk villages extending all the way up to Stuwic and beyond up both the

Atnarko Atnarko is a locality on the Atnarko River, at the south end of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the Bella Coola Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. The original name of the post office located here was Anaham, a name associated with the Tsi ...

and Talchako rivers. These were all gathered in their current location in the

Bella Coola Valley The Bella Coola Valley is a relatively small but distinct region located in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, comprising the valley of the Bella Coola River and its tributaries. The region is served by BC Hwy 20, which runs fr ...

(Nuxalk) by a combination of negotiation with Chief Pootlass and through government pressure, settling together based on cultural and linguistic similarities, reinforced by a large number of marriages arranged to ease the transition. As all these communities now resided on area of the lower Bella Coola river known as Nuxalk, they took the collective name of Nuxalkmc, and their language has also come to be knows as ItNuxalkmc. Not everyone settled within the current communities in that valley, and as such the Nuxalk share many family ties with their neighbours and beyond, most extensively with the

and with the Ulkatchot’en.

History and culture

Before contact, the Nuxalk population is estimated to have been approximately 35,000, according to oral histories and academic research, although Mooney in 1928 estimated that there were 1,400 Nuxalk in 1780. The

1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic Year 186 ( CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 '' Ab urbe c ...

reduced the Nuxalk to only 300 survivors by 1864. In 1902, according to Mooney, there were 302.''The Indian Tribes of North America'', John Swanton, 1953, quoted in canadiangeneaology.net website
/ref> Nuxalk people were scattered throughout the territory and either relocated on their own to survive, or were forcibly removed by the Department of Indian Affairs (once that institution was created a few decades later), to form a settlement in what is now known as the Bella Coola Valley (the reserve is a mile or so upriver and east from the town of Bella Coola). Nuxalk_transformation_mask_1

Knowledge of family ancestry remains strong among the Nuxalk, including villages of descent, family crests, as well as songs and dances that recount the history and myth in ''smayustas''. Nuxalk religion includes a belief in a creator or father God (''Alhkw'ntam''), his son (''Manaakays''). There is also a goddess in Nuxalk spiritual beliefs, Qamayts. Nuxalk society remains close-knit and embraces traditional beliefs. The Nuxalk as a people and via their government maintain rights and title to their entire traditional territory and continue to strive to maintain their traditional systems of governance, basing it in their long and rich cultural history and continued use and occupation. The Nuxalk Nation has long asserted its rights and obligations and has never ceded, sold, surrendered, nor lost traditional lands through act of war or by treaty. The Nuxalk remain strongly against entering any treaty process. Current Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) population estimates indicate a total Nuxalk population of approximately 1400 with nearly 900 of those living on the Nuxalk reserve in Bella Coola. However, according to the traditional Nuxalk government, the true Nuxalk population is closer to 3,000. This number includes people of Nuxalk ancestry who are not registered with the Nuxalk Nation or may be registered to another band government.

References

External links

Nuxalk Nation Home Pagemap of Northwest Coast First Nations
(including Nuxalk)
''Nuxalk Peoples'', Bella Coola Museum website
{{authority control Central Coast of British Columbia First Nations in British Columbia

Name and tribes/groups

History and culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links