The Wuikinuxv , ("Backbone people"), also rendered Oweekano (Pre-1976); ''Oowekeeno'' (1976-2003) (variation: ''Oweekeno, Owekano, Oweekayno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Awikenox'', and also known as the Rivers Inlet people, are an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, located around

Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the ...

and Owikeno Lake, to the north of

Queen Charlotte Strait , image = Canadian pilot, near Port Hardy BC.jpg , alt = , caption = A pilot boat plies Queen Charlotte Strait near Port Hardy , image_bathymetry = Locmap-QCS-Hecate-Dixon.png , alt_bathymetry = ...

. The Wuikinuxv people and their neighbours the

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

and Haisla peoples were in the past sometimes known incorrectly as the "Northern Kwakiutl".

History

The name used for the main village on Katit Indian Reserve No. 1, which is on an island in the

Wannock River The Wannock River is a short river in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, draining Owikeno Lake and entering Rivers Inlet at the head of that inlet, adjacent to the town of the same name, which is the main modern settlement of t ...

, that connects Owikeno Lake to

, "Wannock", means "poison" and refers to an 1848 raid by the Heiltsuk, as recounted by

John Thomas Walbran John Thomas Walbran (1848 – 31 March 1913) was an English-Canadian ship's master and writer. Biography John Thomas Walbran was born in Ripon, England, in 1848. He became qualified as a ship's master in 1881. On the coast of British Columbia f ...

in his authoritative opus on coastal names in British Columbia:

Culture

A recently completed Bighouse, which is the first in many years, is the focus on a rebuilding of Wuikinuxv society. The culture was structured much the same as the other indigenous peoples of the coast. At the height of the coastal civilization, Wuikinuxv territory encompassed the mouth of

to the head waters of Owikeno Lake.

Ethnobotany

They use the berries of Vaccinium vitis-idaea ssp. minus as food.

Language

Oowekyala, the language of the Wuikinuxv, is closely related to the

Heiltsuk language Heiltsuk , also known as Haíɫzaqv, Bella Bella and Haihais, is a dialect of the North Wakashan (Kwakiutlan) language Heiltsuk-Oowekyala that is spoken by the Haihai (Xai'xais) and Bella Bella First Nations peoples of the Central Coast region o ...

, so much so that it is considered one of two dialects of a language named Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, the other dialect being

. It is also closely related to Haisla and is also related to Kwak'wala, the most widely spoken of the Northern Wakashan languages. It is more distantly related to

Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth (; Nuučaan̓uł: ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifte ...

Ditidaht The Ditidaht First Nation is a First Nations band government on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The government has 17 reserve lands: Ahuk, Tsuquanah, Wyah, Clo-oose, Cheewat, Sarque, Carmanah, Iktuksasuk, Hobitan, Oyees, Doo ...

and

Makah The Makah (; Klallam: ''màq̓áʔa'')Renker, Ann M., and Gunther, Erna (1990). "Makah". In "Northwest Coast", ed. Wayne Suttles. Vol. 7 of '' Handbook of North American Indians'', ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Instit ...

, the Southern Wakashan languages.

Government

The government of the Wuikinuxv people is the

Wuikinuxv Nation The Wuikinuxv Nation, also known as the Oweekeno Nation, is a First Nations band government whose traditional territory is the shores of Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, in t ...

. The Wuikinuxv Nation is a member of the

Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council The Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council, formerly the Oweekeno-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council, is a First Nations tribal council comprising band governments of three indigenous peoples of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. T ...

, based in the town of Bella Coola.

Location and services

At present the small community of

which is situated on the banks of the 3 km

is the main centre in Wuikinuxv territory; adjacent to it is the non-Indian reserve First Nations community of Oweekeno.BC Names/GeoBC entry "Oweekeno (First Nation Village)"
/ref> It has an airstrip and daily service from a local airline. In the summer months, airline service is disrupted by the traffic in and out of the sport-fishing camps.

Notes

References

''We Are the Wuikinuxv Nation: Wuikinuxv/Rivers Inlet'', Pam Brown, Pacific Northwest Curator, Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, 2001

External links

Wuikinuxv Nation webpage
{{authority control Central Coast of British Columbia First Nations in British Columbia