Wikibooks: Canadian History/The People of the Lands/Nootka

• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; British Columbia; Thunderbird; First Nations
• Online Access: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Canadian_History/The_People_of_the_Lands/Nootka

The name Nuu chah nulth means “All along the mountains”. = Tribes = When Captain Cook first met these people he referred to them as the Nootka a mistaken name that has stuck with them for years. He grouped a bunch of tribes together all under the Nootka yet they were different people. They all spoke the Wakashan Language with different variations from their own culture. (See language) Today each Nuu chah nulth First Nation includes several chiefly families and most include what were once considered several separate local groups. Fourteen Nuu chah nulth First Nations are divided into three regions Southern Region Ditidaht Huu ay aht Hupacasath Tse shaht and Uchucklesaht Central Region Ahousaht Hesquiaht Tla o qui aht Toquaht and Ucluelet Northern Region Ehattesaht Kyuquot/Cheklesahht Mowachat/Muchalaht and Nuchatlaht = Homes = Nuu Chah Nulth houses could be as long as 30 metres and were built with cedar beams and hand split boards according to the same principles as Coast Salish houses. An example Nuu Chah Nulth house belonged to the head chief of the Tsesha ath people who live near the present day town of Port Alberni at the head of Barkley Sound. The house stood in the 1800s. Although Nuu Chah Nulth houses were often set broadside to the beach this house faced the beach. Below its large round doorway are ten round holes representing ten moons. Above the entrance two Thunderbirds face each other and above each Thunderbird is the figure of a Lightning Snake the supernatural servant of the Thunderbird. Above the Lightning Snake are two supernatural Codfish facing each other. = Language = Wakashan is one of the eleven native language families in Canada. The Wakashan language family is one of the six found in British Columbia alone. Wakashan has two main branches Kwakiutl and Nuu chah nulth. Nuu chah nulth itself is divided into three languages. The northern and central Nuu chah nulth groups speak dialects of one language while the southern group (Ditidaht and Makah) speak separate but closely related languages. ...