Nanoose First Nation

Nanoose First Nation
Band No. 649

Map of Nanoose First Nation Territory
People	Coast Salish [1]
Headquarters	209 Mallard Way, Lantzville
Province	British Columbia
Land [2]
Main reserve	Nanoose
Land area	0.626 km2
Population (June 2025) [3]
On reserve	175
On other land	12
Off reserve	94
Total population	281
Government [4]
Chief	Brent Collin Edwards
Council	Christopher Bob Gordon Edwards Cheryl Jones Lawrence Mitchell
Tribal Council [5]
Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council
Website
https://snawnawas.org/

The Nanoose First Nation, also known the Snaw-naw-as First Nation, ^[1] is a First Nations government located on central Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, in the vicinity of the community of Nanoose Bay. They are Coast Salish people, and one of the most northern tribes on the east side of Vancouver Island. They speak Hul’q’umi’num’, one of three branches of the Halkomelem dialect. ^[1]

The Snaw-naw-as are named after the sole survivor of a battle in the 1800s. ^[1] The name comes from the word “Naus” which means “the way in the harbour”. There are many spelling variants of Snaw-naw-as such as Snonoose, Sno-no-was, Nuas, and Nanooa and Snuwnuwus. ^[6]

The Nanoose First Nation is a member government of the Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council.

See also

• Halkomelem Language

References

1. "History". Nanoose First Nation. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
2. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
3. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
4. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
5. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
6. "About: Snaw-Naw-As Nation". Nanoose Economic Development Corporation. Retrieved 2022-10-31.

External links

• Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council website