The Wuikinuxv (, ("Backbone people"); also Oweekano (Pre-1976); ''Oowekeeno'' (1976-2003) (variations: ''Oweekeno, Owekano, Oweekayno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Awikenox'', or the Rivers Inlet people) are an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people of the Central Coast region of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, located around

Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and th ...

and

Owikeno Lake Owikeno Lake, also Owekeeno Lake, Owekano Lake, Oweekayno Lake and other spellings (pron. "o we KEE no"), is a large fjord lake in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It connects to the head of Rivers Inlet by the short Wanno ...

, to the north of

Queen Charlotte Strait Queen Charlotte Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It connects Queen Charlotte Sound with Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage and via them to the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound. It for ...

. The Wuikinuxv people and their neighbours the

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', or ''Híɫzaqv'' are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Central Coast Regional District, Central Coast region in British Columbia, ...

and

Haisla Haisla may refer to: * Haisla people, an indigenous people living in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada. * Haisla language, their northern Wakashan language. * Haisla Nation The Haisla Nation is the Indian Act-mandated band government which repr ...

peoples were in the past sometimes known incorrectly as the "Northern Kwakiutl".

History

The name used for the main village on Katit Indian Reserve No. 1, which is on an island in the

Wannock River The Wannock River is a short river in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, draining Owikeno Lake and entering Rivers Inlet at the head of that inlet, adjacent to the town of the same name, which is the main modern settlement of t ...

, that connects

, "Wannock", means "poison" and refers to an 1848 raid by the Heiltsuk, as recounted by

John Thomas Walbran John Thomas Walbran (1848 – 31 March 1913) was an English-Canadian ship's master and writer. Biography John Thomas Walbran was born in Ripon, England, in 1848. He became qualified as a ship's master in 1881. On the coast of British Columbia f ...

in his authoritative opus on coastal names in British Columbia:

Culture

A recently completed Bighouse, which is the first in many years, is the focus on a rebuilding of Wuikinuxv society. The culture was structured much the same as the other indigenous peoples of the coast. At the height of the coastal civilization, Wuikinuxv territory encompassed the mouth of

to the head waters of

Ethnobotany

They use the berries of Vaccinium vitis-idaea ssp. minus as food.

Language

Oowekyala Oowekyala , also ''Ooweekeeno'' and ''’Wuik̓ala'' in the language itself, is a dialect (or a sublanguage) of Heiltsuk–Oowekyala language, Heiltsuk–Oowekyala, a Wakashan languages, Northern Wakashan language spoken around Rivers Inlet and O ...

, the language of the Wuikinuxv, is closely related to the

Heiltsuk language Heiltsuk , ''Híɫzaqv'', also known as Bella Bella and Haihais, is a dialect of the North Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language Heiltsuk-Oowekyala that is spoken by the Haihai ( Xai'xais) and Bella Bella First Nations peoples of the Central Coast reg ...

, so much so that it is considered one of two dialects of a language named Heiltsuk–Oowekyala, the other dialect being

. It is also closely related to

and is also related to Kwak'wala, the most widely spoken of the Northern Wakashan languages. It is more distantly related to

Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth ( ; ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tri ...

Ditidaht The Ditidaht ee-tee-dotFirst Nation is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The government has 17 reserve lands: Ahuk, Tsuquanah, Wyah, Clo-oose, Cheewat, Sarque, ...

and

Makah The Makah (; Makah: ') are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast living in Washington, in the northwestern part of the continental United States. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah I ...

, the Southern Wakashan languages.

Government

The government of the Wuikinuxv people is the

Wuikinuxv Nation The Wuikinuxv Nation, also known as the Oweekeno Nation, is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government whose traditional territory is the shores of Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake in the British Columbia Coast, Central Coast region of ...

. The Wuikinuxv Nation is a member of the

Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council The Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo Xai'xais-Nuxalk Tribal Council, formerly the Oweekeno-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council, is a First Nations tribal council comprising band governments of three indigenous peoples of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, C ...

, based in the town of Bella Coola.

Location and services

At present the small community of

which is situated on the banks of the 3 km

is the main centre in Wuikinuxv territory; adjacent to it is the non-Indian reserve First Nations community of Oweekeno.BC Names/GeoBC entry "Oweekeno (First Nation Village)"
/ref> It has an airstrip and daily service from a local airline. In the summer months, airline service is disrupted by the traffic in and out of the sport-fishing camps.

Notes

References

''We Are the Wuikinuxv Nation: Wuikinuxv/Rivers Inlet'', Pam Brown, Pacific Northwest Curator, Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, 2001

External links

Wuikinuxv Nation webpage
{{authority control Central Coast of British Columbia First Nations in British Columbia