Topic summary

Kulhulmcilh

Kulhulmcilh

Kulhulmcilh (It7Nuxalkmc: "our land"; Nuxalk pronunciation:), also known as Nuxalkulmc ("Nuxalk Country"; Nuxalk pronunciation:) and Nuxalk Territory, is the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory (or country) of the Nuxalk Nation. It is located on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada, centred in and around Bella Coola (Qʼumkʼuts). Nuxalk Territory neighbours Waxvwuisaxv (Heiltsuk Country) and the Haisla to the north, the Wuikinuxv to the south, and to Dakelh Keyoh and Tŝilhqot'in Nen in the interior. Without a treaty between the Canadian State and the Nuxalk Nation, much of Kulhulmcilh's land base is disputed between the two governments. Since 1869 and the application of the Indian Act, the nation has been governed by an imposed chief and council band structure, disrupting the historical system of nunutsʼxlhuusnm whereby Nuxalkmc were governed by the Stataltmc (ancestral leadership). The elected Chief and Council signed a memorandum of understanding with Nuxalk Stataltmc on June 28, 2019, outlining a path forward to revive and re-implement the ancestral system of governance in Kulhulmcilh. Similarly, the language (It7Nuxalkmc) is undergoing a revival where it both is heard on CKNN-FM Nuxalk Radio and is being taught in both the provincial school system and the Nuxalk Nation's own school, Acwsalcta, which means "a place of learning".