Notes On the Nuu-Chah-Nulth

I live on the Ucluelet Inlet, and guide kayak trips frequently in the area. There is an incredible amount of First Nations history right here. Every beach has a traditional name and use. Every point, every stretch of water. Before white contact, there were 50,000 people living on the coast from the Brooks Peninsula on Vancouver Island down to Makah territory, just across the US border. That number hit a population low of 2,000 in the '20's and '30's, decimated by introduced disease and by supplies of firearms and ammunition given to select groups or tribes.

The people of the west coast of Vancouver Island from the Brooks Peninsula down, although comprised of many separate tribes, now choose the name Nuu-Chah-Nulth, meaning "All Along the Mountains." This is primarily a language designation, separating them from the Kwakiutl to the north and north-east on the Island, and the Salish to the south and south-east.

Nuu-Chah-Nulth territory is further divided into Northern, Central, and Nitinat. The area I live in is in Central Nuu-Chah-Nulth territory, which includes the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, Clayoquot, Ucluelet, Toquaht, Uchucklesaht, Tseshaht, and Ohiaht. Even these names are just broad terms for many smaller groups. The Kelsemat were originally of Vargas Island, but joined the Ahousaht after their men were lost in a sealing expedition in the Bering Sea. The Otsosat were of Flores Island, but were almost annihilated by the Ahousaht in the early 19th century. The Wildside Trail on Flores Island, established by the modern Ahousaht, has interpretive signs at the sites where much of the warfare occurred.

With thanks to Denis St. Clair for much of the above information.