Heiltsuk
Encyclopedia
The Heiltsuk (ˈheɪltsʊk) (also Bella Bella) are an Indigenous
First Nations
of the Central Coast
region of the Canadian province of British Columbia
, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella
and Klemtu
. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation
. Its largest community is Bella Bella
.
era.
Heiltsuk culture has been and is known for its ceremonial, military and artistic skills. As the fur trade began they also became known as skilled traders. Highly skilled in canoe making and later ship building, a number of trading schooners were made in Bella Bella by the canoe makers who had learned to make western style vessels. For a time they acted as middlemen in the fur trade, benefiting from early access to guns. The traders complain in some of their records of the Heiltsuk being hard to trade with, passing off land otter skins for sea otter, demanding extra large blankets, then cutting them to standards size for re-trade and sewing the extra pieces together to make more blankets.
. Related to other languages in the group as French is to Spanish, the Heiltsuk language is similar to Wuikyala
(the language of the Rivers Inlet people). Heiltsuk, Wuikyala, Haisla
and Kwak'wala
languages form the Northern Wakashan
language group. Heiltsuk and Wuikyala are both tonal languages, which Kwak'wala is not, and both are considered dialects of the Heiltsuk-Oowekyala language.
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
of the Central Coast
Central Coast Regional District, British Columbia
Central Coast Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It has a total land area of 24,559.5 km² . When it was created in 1968, it was named the Ocean Falls Regional District, after the then-largest town in the region, the company town Ocean Falls, now a ghost town...
region of the Canadian province of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella
Bella Bella, British Columbia
Bella Bella, also known as Waglisla, is an unincorporated community and Indian Reserve community located within Bella Bella Indian Reserve No. 1 on the east coast of Campbell Island in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. Bella Bella is located north of Port Hardy, on Vancouver...
and Klemtu
Klemtu, British Columbia
Klemtu is a small village on Swindle Island in the coastal fjords of British Columbia, Canada.Klemtu is the home of the Kitasoo tribe of Tsimshians, originally from Kitasu Bay, and the Xai'xais of Kynoc Inlet, a subgroup of the Heiltsuk people. These two tribes live together as, and are jointly...
. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation
Heiltsuk Nation
The Heiltsuk Nation is a First Nations government in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella, British Columbia...
. Its largest community is Bella Bella
Bella Bella, British Columbia
Bella Bella, also known as Waglisla, is an unincorporated community and Indian Reserve community located within Bella Bella Indian Reserve No. 1 on the east coast of Campbell Island in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. Bella Bella is located north of Port Hardy, on Vancouver...
.
Culture and History
The Heiltsuk are the descendants of a number of tribal groups who came together in Bella Bella in the 19th Century and came to be called the Bella Bella Indians. They generally refer to themselves as Heiltsuk. As with many other Nations on the coast they were subject to drastic population loss as a result of introduced diseases and heightened military conflicts with neighbouring peoples during the fur tradeFur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
era.
Heiltsuk culture has been and is known for its ceremonial, military and artistic skills. As the fur trade began they also became known as skilled traders. Highly skilled in canoe making and later ship building, a number of trading schooners were made in Bella Bella by the canoe makers who had learned to make western style vessels. For a time they acted as middlemen in the fur trade, benefiting from early access to guns. The traders complain in some of their records of the Heiltsuk being hard to trade with, passing off land otter skins for sea otter, demanding extra large blankets, then cutting them to standards size for re-trade and sewing the extra pieces together to make more blankets.
Language
The Heiltsuk language is part of what is called the Wakashan language familyWakashan languages
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....
. Related to other languages in the group as French is to Spanish, the Heiltsuk language is similar to Wuikyala
Oowekyala language
Oowekyala is a dialect of Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, a Northern Wakashan language spoken around Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province...
(the language of the Rivers Inlet people). Heiltsuk, Wuikyala, Haisla
Haisla language
The Haisla language is a First Nations language spoken by the Haisla people of the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, who are based in the village of Kitaamat 10 km from the town of Kitimat at the head of the Douglas Channel, a 120 km fjord that serves as a...
and Kwak'wala
Kwak'wala
Kwak'wala is the Indigenous language spoken by the Kwakwaka'wakw. It belongs to the Wakashan language family. There are about 250 Kwak'wala speakers today, which amounts to 5% of the Kwakwaka'wakw population...
languages form the Northern Wakashan
Wakashan languages
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....
language group. Heiltsuk and Wuikyala are both tonal languages, which Kwak'wala is not, and both are considered dialects of the Heiltsuk-Oowekyala language.
See also
- PotlatchPotlatchA potlatch is a gift-giving festival and primary economic system practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and United States. This includes Heiltsuk Nation, Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures...
- Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest CoastIndigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest CoastThe Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...