Memkumlis or, officially Meem Quam Leese, Memkoomlish, Memqumlis, 'mimkumlis or Mi'mkwamlis, commonly known as
Mamalilaculla, which is actually the name of the subgroup of the
Kwakwaka'wakw whose home it is, is located on the west side of
Village Island in the
Johnstone Strait
, image = Pacific Ranges over Johnstone Strait.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, alt =
, caption = Johnstone Strait backdropped by the Vancouver Island Ranges
, image_bathymetry = Carte baie Knight ...
region of the
Central Coast of British Columbia
, settlement_type = Region of British Columbia
, image_skyline =
, nickname = "The Coast"
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = British ...
.
The village is on Mahmalillikullah Indian Reserve No. 1 on
Eliot Passage, which was created in 1886. The name means "village with rocks and islands out front", or as translated by famous chief and carver
Mungo Martin
Chief Mungo Martin or ''Nakapenkem'' (lit. ''Potlatch chief "ten times over"''), ''Datsa'' (lit. ''"grandfather"''), was an important figure in Northwest Coast style art, specifically that of the Kwakwaka'wakw Aboriginal people who live in the a ...
, "group of little islands" and by
Franz Boas as "round things
slandsin front at beach".
History
When the Kwikwasut'inux village of
Gwayasdums Gwayasdums is a village of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples on the west side of Gilford Island in the Johnstone Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The village, located on Retreat Pass, is on Gwayasdums Indian Reserve No. 1. ...
was destroyed in the 1850s by the
Nuxalk
The Nuxalk people ( Nuxalk: ''Nuxalkmc''; pronounced )'','' also referred to as the Bella Coola, Bellacoola or Bilchula, are an Indigenous First Nation of the Pacific Northwest Coast, centred in the area in and around Bella Coola, British Co ...
, the survivors joined the Mamalilikulla at Memkumlis. The village was partly destroyed by fire in 1892 and rebuilt.
The village's population was estimated at 2000 in 1836-41 (before the Kwikwasut'inux moved there), but by 1911 it was only 90.
[Franz Boaz, American Geographical Society, vol XIX, no.3, 1887, reprinted in ''Handbook of the Indians of Canada'', 1913, quoted i]
BC Names/GeoBC entry "Mamalilaculla (locality)"
/ref>
See also
* List of Kwakwaka'wakw villages
References
External links
Mi'mkwamlis'', Emily Carr - To The Totem Forests website
Kwakwaka'wakw villages
Central Coast of British Columbia
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