The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia and far southern Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, and Alaska's Annette Islands.
Oowekyala, also Ooweekeeno and ’Wuik̓ala in the language itself, is a dialect of Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, a Northern Wakashan language spoken around Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, spoken by the Wuikinuxv, whose government is the Wuikinuxv Nation.
Heiltsuk, also known as Haíɫzaqv, 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 region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, around the communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu, British Columbia. Bella Bella is the headquarters of the Heiltsuk Nation government.
Wakashan is a family of languages spoken in British Columbia around and on Vancouver Island, and in the northwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The Tsimshianic languages are a family of languages spoken in northwestern British Columbia and in Southeast Alaska on Annette Island and Ketchikan. All Tsimshianic languages are endangered, some with only around 400 speakers. Only around 2,170 people of the ethnic Tsimshian population in Canada still speak a Tsimshian language; about 50 of the 1,300 Tsimshian people living in Alaska still speak Coast Tsimshian. Tsimshianic languages are considered by most linguists to be an independent language family, with four main languages: Coast Tsimshian, Southern Tsimshian, Nisg̱a’a, and Gitksan.
The Musqueam Indian Band is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia and is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver.
Princess Royal Island is the largest island on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is located amongst the isolated inlets and islands east of Hecate Strait on the British Columbia Coast. At 2,251 square kilometres (869 sq mi), it is the fourth largest island in British Columbia. Princess Royal Island was named in 1788 by Captain Charles Duncan, after his sloop Princess Royal.
Hartley Bay is a First Nations community on the coast of British Columbia. The village is located at the mouth of Douglas Channel, about 630 kilometres (390 mi) north of Vancouver and 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Prince Rupert. It is an isolated village accessible only by air and water with a population of 200.
The Kitasoo are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian people in Canada, who inhabit, along with Xai'xais people of Heiltsuk ethnic affiliation, the village of Klemtu, British Columbia. The name Kitasoo derives from the Tsimshian name Gidestsu, from git- and disdzuu, which refers to a large, tiered house-depression. The Kitasoo, along with the Gitga'ata Tsimshians at Hartley Bay, B.C., are often classed as "Southern Tsimshian," their traditional language being the southern dialect of the Tsimshian language. Their band government is the Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation, a member government of the Oweekeno-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council.
The Gitga'ata are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation in British Columbia, Canada, and inhabit the village of Hartley Bay, British Columbia, the name of which in the Tsimshian language is Txałgiu. The name Gitga'ata in the Tsimshian language means "people of the cane". The Gitga'ata, along with the Kitasoo Tsimshians at Klemtu, B.C., are often classed as "Southern Tsimshian," their traditional language being the southern dialect of the Tsimshian language. Most Tsimshian-speakers in Hartley Bay today, however, speak the form of the language shared by villages to the north. Their band government is the Hartley Bay Indian Band, aka the Gitga'at First Nation.
The Kitkatla or Gitxaala are one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian nation of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and inhabit a village, also called Kitkatla, on Dolphin Island, a small island just by Porcher Island off the coast of northern B.C. Because of their location, the Kitkatla have sometimes been called Porcher Island Indians. They were also, in the early contact period, called the Sebassa tribe, for their paramount chief at the time, Ts'ibasaa. The name Kitkatla derives from the Tsimshian name Gitkxaała, from git- and kxaała, since they are the farthest from the mainland of the Tsimshian tribes. Another name for themselves is Git lax m'oon in recognition of the land they lived on: the islands and inlets of this rugged piece of coastline.
The Wuikinuxv Nation, also known as the Oweekeno Nation, is a First Nations band government whose traditional territory is the shores of Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, in the area south of Bella Bella and north of Queen Charlotte Strait. The Wuikinuxv people a.k.a. the Oweekeno people reside in the area of Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake, primarily at a village on the Wannock River. Substantial numbers of Wuikinuxv also reside away from the traditional territory in Port Hardy on Vancouver Island and in larger BC communities such as Campbell River, Vancouver and Victoria. Approximately 80 people reside at the village while overall membership was 283 in 2006, 194 of whom lived off-reserve.
The WuikinuxvIPA: [ʔuwik'inuxʷ], also rendered Oowekeeno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Oweekano, Awikenox, and also known as the Rivers Inlet people, are an Indigenous First Nations people of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located around Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake, to the north of Queen Charlotte Strait. The Wuikinuxv people and their neighbours the Heiltsuk and Haisla peoples were in the past sometimes known incorrectly as the "Northern Kwakiutl".
Heiltsuk-Oowekyala is a Northern Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language spoken in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, spoken by the Wuikinuxv (Oweekeno) and Heiltsuk peoples. It has two dialects, Heiltsuk and Oowekyala (Wuikyala), which unlike other Wakashan languages are tonal. It has no traditional name, so the hyphenated construction Heiltsuk-Oowekyala is used by linguists. Ethnologue calls this language "Heiltsuk", with the Bella Bella dialect (Heiltsuk) labelled "Northern Heiltsuk" and the Oowekyala dialect labeled "Southern Heiltsuk".
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and practices, such as the centrality of salmon as a resource and spiritual symbol, and many cultivation and subsistence practices. The term Northwest Coast or North West Coast is used in anthropology to refer to the groups of Indigenous people residing along the coast of what is now called British Columbia, Washington state, parts of Alaska, Oregon, and Northern California. The term Pacific Northwest is largely used in the American context.
The Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo-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, Canada. The tribal council, composed of three band governments, spans four different cultures and languages:
Fort McLoughlin was a fur trading post established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) on Campbell Island in present-day British Columbia, Canada. At the time the Hudson's Bay Company performed quasi-governmental duties on behalf of the British Empire as well as undertaking trade for profit. The site is believed to have been at McLoughlin Bay on the northeast side of Campbell Island and is associated with the relocation of the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella from its former location on islets near Denny Island. The McLoughlin name, which is that of John McLoughlin, regional head of company operations at that time, is also found in a lake and a creek entering that bay, and was conferred on these locations after the fort had closed.
The Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation, also known as the Kitasoo/Xaixais Nation, is the band government of the First Nations people of Klemtu, British Columbia, Canada. The band comprises two ethnic groups who share an ancient alliance, the Kitasoo, a Tsimshian group, and the Xai'xais, a Heiltsuk group. The government is a member of the Oweekeno-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council and a member of the Tsimshian First Nations treaty council.
Kitsumkalum First Nation is a band government of the Tsimshian people based at Kitsumkalum, British Columbia in the Skeena River valley in the North Coast region near Terrace, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Tsimshian First Nations treaty council.
The Fiordland Conservancy, also known as the Fiordland Recreation Area formerly, and since also as the Fiordland Conservation Area, is a conservancy in British Columbia, Canada. It preserves a portion of the province's coast containing glacial fjords; at the time of its inception it was the only protected area in the system protecting this particular environmental zone. Established in 1987, the park covers 76,825 hectares of the Kitimat Ranges, part of the Coast Mountains, and 7,592 hectares of foreshore. It is located approximately 100 kilometers north of the town of Bella Coola. The park encompasses two major inlets — Mussel and Kynoch. As there is no road access to the park, it is mainly enjoyed by sailors and kayakers. Although there are no modern settlements in the area, the Heiltsuk people have maintained villages along the shores in the past. The nearest settlements are Klemtu and Bella Bella.
