The term
Kwakiutl, historically applied to the entire
Kwakwaka'wakwThe Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the the adjoining mainland and islands. Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
enthno-linguistic group of peoples, comes from one of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes, the Kwagu'ł or Kwagyeulth, at
Fort RupertFort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company fort which was built and first commanded by William Henry McNeill in 1849. It is located near present-day Port Hardy, British Columbia on Vancouver Island....
, with whom Franz Boas did most of his anthropological work and whose
Indian ActThe Indian Act , R.S., 1985, c. I-5, is a Canadian statute that concerns registered Indians , their bands, and the system of Indian reserves...
Band government is the
Kwakiutl First NationThe Kwakiutl First Nation is a First Nations government based on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, focused on the community of Port Hardy, British Columbia in the Queen Charlotte Strait region, and also known as the Fort Rupert Band, known in traditional Kwakwaka'wakw terms as...
. The term is now considered a misnomer by most of the peoples it is applied to, the correct term for whom is
Kwakwaka'wakwThe Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the the adjoining mainland and islands. Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
, which means
Kwak'walaKwak'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...
-speaking-peoples, although some bands such as the Legwiltok at Campbell River still embrace it -they are known as the Southern Kwakiutl and the tribal council they are in is the
Kwakiutl District CouncilThe Kwakiutl District Council, also spelled Kwakwewlth District Council and Kwakiuth District Council, is a First Nations Tribal Council based on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, based in the community of Campbell River, British Columbia in the northern Strait of Georgia but including...
(which includes the Kwakiutl First Nation).
The term, created by anthropologist
Franz BoasFranz Boas was a German American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did post-doctoral work in geography...
, was widely used into the 1980s and remains current in other languages than English, but is nowadays rejected by most
Kwakwaka'wakwThe Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the the adjoining mainland and islands. Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
groups.
The term was also misapplied to mean all the tribes who spoke Kwak'wala, as well as three other indigenous peoples whose language is a part of the Wakashan linguistical group, but whose language is not Kwak'wala.
The term
Kwakiutl, historically applied to the entire
Kwakwaka'wakwThe Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the the adjoining mainland and islands. Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
enthno-linguistic group of peoples, comes from one of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes, the Kwagu'ł or Kwagyeulth, at
Fort RupertFort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company fort which was built and first commanded by William Henry McNeill in 1849. It is located near present-day Port Hardy, British Columbia on Vancouver Island....
, with whom Franz Boas did most of his anthropological work and whose
Indian ActThe Indian Act , R.S., 1985, c. I-5, is a Canadian statute that concerns registered Indians , their bands, and the system of Indian reserves...
Band government is the
Kwakiutl First NationThe Kwakiutl First Nation is a First Nations government based on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, focused on the community of Port Hardy, British Columbia in the Queen Charlotte Strait region, and also known as the Fort Rupert Band, known in traditional Kwakwaka'wakw terms as...
. The term is now considered a misnomer by most of the peoples it is applied to, the correct term for whom is
Kwakwaka'wakwThe Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the the adjoining mainland and islands. Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
, which means
Kwak'walaKwak'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...
-speaking-peoples, although some bands such as the Legwiltok at Campbell River still embrace it -they are known as the Southern Kwakiutl and the tribal council they are in is the
Kwakiutl District CouncilThe Kwakiutl District Council, also spelled Kwakwewlth District Council and Kwakiuth District Council, is a First Nations Tribal Council based on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, based in the community of Campbell River, British Columbia in the northern Strait of Georgia but including...
(which includes the Kwakiutl First Nation).
The term, created by anthropologist
Franz BoasFranz Boas was a German American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did post-doctoral work in geography...
, was widely used into the 1980s and remains current in other languages than English, but is nowadays rejected by most
Kwakwaka'wakwThe Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the the adjoining mainland and islands. Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
groups.
"Northern Kwakiutl"
The term was also misapplied to mean all the tribes who spoke Kwak'wala, as well as three other indigenous peoples whose language is a part of the Wakashan linguistical group, but whose language is not Kwak'wala. These peoples, incorrectly known as the Northern Kwakiutl, are the
HaislaThe Haisla are an indigenous people living at Kitamaat in the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their indigenous Haisla language is named after them...
, Wuikinuxv, and
HeiltsukThe Heiltsuk are a 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...
.