Tseshaht First Nation is an amalgamation of many tribes up and down Alberni Inlet and in the

Alberni Valley Alberni Valley is a broad valley located at the head of Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is home to Port Alberni, Sproat Lake and other outlining areas. The term is largely used as a synonym for Greater Port Alber ...

of central

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

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, for ...

. They are a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council which includes all other Nuu-chah-nulth-aht peoples except the

Pacheedaht First Nation The Pacheedaht First Nation is a First Nations band government based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Although the Pacheedaht people are Nuu-chah-nulth-aht by culture and language, they are not a member of th ...

Population

There are 1,205 Tseshaht. The main reserve community is located in

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices ...

. They became the area's dominant tribe through historical warfare. The Tseshaht First nation is one of 14 that make up the Nuu-chah-nulth culture. Their language is a member of the

Wakashan Wakashan is a family of languages spoken in British Columbia around and on Vancouver Island, and in the northwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As is typical of the Nor ...

family.

Creation story

Tseshaht oral history tells that their people were first created on

Benson Island, British Columbia Benson Island, known to the Tseshaht First Nation people as C'isaa (Ćišaa?atḥ) or Ts'ishaa (Ts'isha?atH), is part of the Broken Group in Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is notable because the ...

. In 2012, an interpretive display about the importance of the island was installed in cooperation with

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

. The site is marked by a tall wooden carving by Tseshaht artist Gordon Dick.

Notable people

Alec Thomas Alec Thomas was born around 1894 near Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. He was a fisherman, trapper, longshoreman, interpreter, self-taught anthropologist, and Tseshaht politician. Alec had a wife named Eva and also had a son named Bob. With him ...

born around 1894 near Alberni. He was a fisherman, trapper, longshoreman, logger, interpreter, and Tseshaht politician. * Sayachapis born circa 1838–1843. He was a prolific whaler and woodworker. Between 1913 and 1922, he was also one of the primary informants to Anthropologist/Linguist Edward Sapir for his extensive notes (known as the Sapir-Thomas Nootka texts) that were intended to provide an extensive ethnography on the cultural and social life of the Nuu Chah Nulth (Nootka) people. Tom Sayachapis died circa 1922. *

George Clutesi George Clutesi, (1905 – 27 February 1988), was a Tseshaht artist, actor and writer, as well as an expert on and ambassador for all Canadian First Nations culture. Biography Clutesi was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia in 1905. He was ...

CM (1905-1988) actor, artist and writer

References

External links

Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council homepageTseshaht First Nation
{{Nuu-chah-nulth-aht First Nations Nuu-chah-nulth governments Alberni Valley

Population

Creation story

Notable people

See also

References

External links