Nuu-chah-nulth Hahoulthee
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Nuu-chah-nulth Hahoulthee nuučaan̓uuɫ ḥaḥuułi | |
|---|---|
| Pre-contact–1867 | |
| Status | Unrecognized country[dubious – discuss] |
| Common languages | nuučaan̓uɫ |
| Demonym | Nuu-chah-nulth-aht (nuučaan̓uuɫɁatḥ) |
| History | |
• Established | Pre-contact |
• Indian Act, 1876 | 1867 |
| Population | |
• 1778 | 30,000[1] |
• 1911 | 3,500[2] |
• 1930 | 2,000[1] |
• 2014 | 4,606[1] |
• 2016 | 4,310[1] |
| Today part of | Canada |
| nuučaan̓uuɫ "all along the mountains and sea" | |
|---|---|
| People | nuučaan̓ułʔatḥ (Nuu-chah-nulth-aht) |
| Language | nuučaan̓uɫ (Nuu-chah-nulth) |
| Country | nuučaan̓uuɫ ḥaḥuułi (Nuu-chah-nulth Hahoulthee) |
Nuu-chah-nulth Hahoulthee (Nuu-chah-nulth: nuučaan̓uł ḥaḥuułi)[3][4][5] is the homeland and collective territories (or country) of the Nuu-chah-nulth nations. Located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, the Nuu-chah-nulth-aht (nuučaan̓uuɫɁatḥ; or Nuu-chah-nulth people) have continuously lived in their lands for more than 4,000 years.[6][7] Prior to 2011, every Nuu-chah-nulth territory was unceded; it was only after the BC Treaty Process, which began in 1994, did five Nuu-chah-nulth nations successfully enter into treaty relationship with Canada upon the signing of the Maa-nulth Treaty, its name meaning "villages along the coast."[8][9] The remaining hahoulthees remain unceded to this day.[10][11][12]
Aside from the Pacheedaht First Nation (P̓aačiinaʔatḥ), Nuu-chah-nulth Hahoulthee is governed by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, uniting the remaining fourteen Nuu-chah-nulth nations. To the south are the territories of two, closely related nations: ditidaqiic̓aq disib̓aʔk (Ditidaht territory)[13] and Makah territory. To the north and east are the territories of the Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw, Kʼómoks, and the Quwʼutsun, including relatives of the Nuu-chah-nulth-aht: the Ts'uubaa-asatx.
"Nuu-chah-nulth," written as nuučaan̓uł in the language, means "all along the mountains and sea."[1] When referring to Nuu-chah-nulth people, the -aht (-(ʔ)atḥ) ending is applied, as in Nuu-chah-nulth-aht (nuučaan̓ułʔatḥ).[14] At its most basic, "hahoulthee" (ḥaḥuułi) means "territory" or "resources."[15] However, the word encapsulates more than just those concepts. Indeed, "haḥuułi is a way of understanding the territory of the nuučaanuł haw’ił (hereditary leaders). More than just lands and resources, haḥuułi involves a series of responsibilities and protocols for living together respectfully and abundantly."[4][16]
While the word nuučaan̓uł has one accepted anglicization, that being "Nuu-chah-nulth," there seem to be a number of ways ḥaḥuułi and Nuu-chah-nulth Hahoulthee can be written and transliterated. This ranges from "Nuu-chah-nulth Ḥahuułi,[3] to Nuu-chah-nulth Hahuulhi,[17] and nuučaanuł haḥuułi.[4]
History
Like most other coastal First Nations, the Nuu-chah-nulth have strict intellectual property laws around the stewardship and sharing of cultural stories and histories. The famous anthropologist–linguist Edward Sapir stated that the Nuu-chah-nulth:
...distinguish very strictly between myths proper and legends. Both are believed to be true, but the myths go bac to a misty past in which the world wore a very different aspect from its familiar appearance of today. They go back to a time when animals were human beings, to be later transformed into the creatures we know, and the tribes of men had not yet settled in their historic places nor started upon their appointed tasks. The legends, on the other hand, deal with supposedly historical characters of human kind, are definitely localized, and connect directly with the tribes of today and what is of ceremonial or social importance to them. A myth, among the Nootka Indians [sic], is no one's special property. It may be told by anyone and is generally known to a large number. A legend, however, is family propery. Only those may tell it who have an inherited right to it, who trace descent, in other words, from the hero of the legend, the ancestor who has met one or more supernatural beings, has gained "power" from them, and has bequeathed to his descendants not only his "power" but a number of privileges, such as names, songs, and dances, which derive from the ancestral experiences. Thus, the legend becomes itself a formal "privilege," inheritable like all other types of privilege among these Indians.[18]
Economy
Historically, Nuu-chah-nulth nations were whaling peoples.[19] Like other coastal nations, the wealth accumulated in harvests would be distributed during potlatches (Nuu-chah-nulth: paɬaˑč; the root of the English word "potlatch"). As such, the potlatch ban had disastrous effects of the Nuu-chah-nulth economy.[20] Prior to the ban, and according to early European observations, the Nuu-chah-nulth-aht were one of the wealthiest people in the world.[21]