The Haisla language is a 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...

 language spoken by the Haisla people of the North Coast

North Coast

North Coast or Northcoast may refer to :Australia* North Coast , a regionCanada* "North Coast" in British Columbia means the northernmost region of the British Columbia Coast, primarily the communities of Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat and surrounding areas** North Coast , an electoral district...

 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...

, who are based in the village of Kitaamat 10 km from the town of Kitimat

Kitimat, British Columbia

Kitimat is a coastal city in northwestern British Columbia, in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. The Kitimat Valley, which includes the adjacent community of Terrace, is the most populous urban district in Northwest British Columbia...

 at the head of the Douglas Channel

Douglas Channel

Douglas Channel is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. Its official length from the head of Kitimat Arm, where the aluminum smelter town of Kitimat to Wright Sound, on the Inside Passage ferry route, is 90 km...

, a 120 km fjord that serves as a waterway for the Haisla as well as for the aluminum smelter and accompanying port of the town of Kitimat. The Haisla and their language, along with that of the neighbouring Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv

Wuikinuxv people

The Wuikinuxv people, also known as the Wuikenukv, Oweekeno, Wikeno, Owikeno, Oowekeeno, Oweekano, Awikenox, or Rivers Inlet people, are an Indigenous First Nations people of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located around Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake, to the...

 peoples, were in the past incorrectly called "Northern Kwakiutl".

The name Haisla is derived from the Haisla word x̣àʼisla or x̣àʼisəla '(those) living at the rivermouth, living downriver'.

Haisla is a 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....

 (Kwakiutlan) language spoken by several hundred people. Haisla is geographically the northernmost Wakashan language. Its nearest Wakashan neighbor is Oowekyala. Haisla is related to the other North Wakashan languages, Oowekyala, Heiltsuk, and Kwak'wala. The Haisla language consists of two dialects, sometimes defined as sublanguages – Kitamaat and Kitlope (also known as X̣enaksialak’ala).

External links

• The Haisla Languages (Emmon Bach's page)
  • Haisla text: Dyeing (as told by Jeffrey L. Legaic) (includes .WAV sound file)
• X̌àʼislakʼala / X̄a’islak’ala (Haisla) (Chris Harvey’s Native Language, Font, & Keyboard)
  • X̌àʼislakʼala / X̄a’islak’ala (Haisla) Example Text
• Bibliography of Materials on the Haisla Language (YDLI)