Nuu-chah-nulth
Nuučaan̓ułʔatḥ | |
|---|---|
Three Nuu-chah-nulth children in Yuquot, 1930s | |
| Total population | |
| In 2016 (4,310) people identified having Nuu-chah-nulth ancestry | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Canada (British Columbia) | |
| Languages | |
| Nuu-chah-nulth, English, French | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kwakwaka'wakw, Makah; other Wakashan-speaking peoples |
The Nuu-chah-nulth (/nuːˈtʃɑːnʊlθ/ noo-CHAH-nuulth; Nuu-chah-nulth: Nuučaan̓ułʔatḥ [nuːt͡ʃaːnˀuɬʔatħ]), 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 fifteen related tribes whose traditional home is on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
In precontact and early post-contact times, the number of tribes was much greater, but the smallpox epidemics and other consequences of contact with Europeans resulted in the disappearance of some groups and the absorption of others into neighbouring groups. The Nuu-chah-nulth are related to the Kwakwaka'wakw, the Haisla, and the Ditidaht First Nation. The Nuu-chah-nulth language belongs to the Wakashan family.
The governing body is the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.