Nuxalk

M. Wigle

"NEW-hulk"

The Nuxalk people call themselves the Nuxalkmc. A century ago, anthropologists called them the Bella Coola. Traditional Nuxalk territory is the central coast of British Columbia, from the mouth of the Bella Coola River inland along the Bella Coola Valley and nearby inlets and channels.

Population: Approximately 1,660 (as of 2013) Language: Nuxalk

In Nuxalk Territory

Ariel view of the land and rivers at the foot of a mountain.

Bella Coola, British Columbia The Hudson’s Bay Company established a fur trading post here in 1869, about 75 miles (120 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean. Today the town is a gateway to tourism in the Bella Coola Valley, an important part of the local economy. Visitors can find outfitters for fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing, as well as galleries featuring the work of Nuxalk artists. It is also home to the Nuxalk government.
M. Wigle

Two men on a boat, one holds a crab and the other fills out information in a notebook.

Bella Coola Estuary, British Columbia Recreational and commercial fishing have depleted crab populations in Nuxalk and nearby territories. Here Nuxalk researchers Ernie Tallio and John Sampson gather data on Dungeness crabs to provide a basis for sustainable fishing.
Coastal First Nations–Great Bear Initiative

A forest of large, old cedar trees surrounded by forest floor vegetation.

Big Cedars Trail, Bella Coola, B.C. Nuxalk and other Northwest Coast people have traditionally relied on fish and other resources of the sea, but the forest has been essential to them, too. Western red cedar trees provided bark for clothing, rope, tools and baskets, and wood for canoes, house planks, boxes, masks and more—and are still used by artists today.
S. Ogle/AGE Fotostock

From the Collections: Nuxalk sun mask

Carved wooden mask with a face in the center and four smaller faces around the edge.

This mask features Senx, the sun—the heavenly creator of the Nuxalk people. In their tradition, Senx sent four supernatural carpenters to Earth to make humans and shape their world. These four are shown on the rim of this striking carving, which was “floated” in big house ceremonies dramatizing the creation story. This mask is from Nuxalk territory on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada.
AMNH 16/1507, made about 1870

Eagle mask banner held aloft between two poles.

The Nuxalk nation depicts this sun mask on their national flag as a universal crest of all Nuxalkmc, or Nuxalk people.
Nuxalk Smayusta

Nuxalk Villages

Kimsquit (Suts'lhm), 1881 Kimsquit was one of about 45 documented Nuxalk villages in the early 1900s. It was located at the mouth of the Dean River, which is abundant with fish.
AMNH Library 39988

Gentleman in western dress lean against wooden buildings and totem poles that line a raised boardwalk.

BoardwalkQ’um’kuts VillageThe Nuxalk village of Q’um’kuts, shown here in 1897, was situated on the Bella Coola River across from where the Canadian town of Bella Coola is today. The Nuxalk built their houses on stilts, facing the shore, with the front doors opening onto a boardwalk.
Image credit: Canadian Museum of History 46917

BoardwalkQ’um’kuts VillageEuropean traders brought diseases, as well as goods, to Nuxalk territory in the 1800s. A smallpox epidemic that began in 1862 decimated the Nuxalk population. The survivors, about 300 in all, left most of the Nuxalk villages in the Bella Coola River Valley and consolidated in Q’um’kuts, shown here in 1909.
Image credit: AMNH Library 46082

From the Collections: Nuxalk eagle headdress

Ts’lkt | Eagle headdress When a Nuxalk man marries, his wife’s treasures—songs, dances, stories, family crests, and the rights they entail—are “dragged across” to her new home. In this way, designs and ideas may travel widely. This crown-like headdress resembles those worn to the north of Nuxalk lands. The design may have been brought by a high-ranking woman who married into a Nuxalk family.

AMNH Anthropology 16/1519

Territory Reclaimed

Group of men (some wearing headdresses), women, and children gather together outdoors.

Talyu Village, British Columbia In 2009, as part of an effort to mark and protect ancestral lands, Nuxalk people raised a totem pole at Talyu, a former village site. Here, three staltmc, or Nuxalk chiefs—Sixilaaxayc, Snuxyaltwa and Qwatsinas—participate in the raising. For decades, the Nuxalk have contested clear-cut logging nearby. In 2016 First Nations, including the Nuxalk, reached an agreement with the British Columbia government to prohibit logging in most of the region.
P. Hunt

Empty-looking wooden houses with totem poles in front.

Talyu Village, British Columbia Talyu was once a large village, but by the time of this photo, in 1913, few people remained. Many had died of smallpox and other diseases. The Canadian government relocated the last survivors in the 1960s, and loggers burned the remaining houses soon after.
Royal BC Museum and Archives PN 10978