Description
The Heiltsuk sometimes historically referred to as Bella Bella, are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation, though the term is also used to describe the community. They should not be confused with the Salish-speaking Nuxalk peoples, who were formerly usually called Bella Coola in English. Ancestors of the Heiltsuk have been in the Central Coast region of British Columbia since at least 7190 BCE or possibly even up to 12,000 BCE as evidenced by a 2017 archaeological study of their traditional home on Triquet Island.
Language
Heiltsuk is considered to be a dialect of Heiltsuk-Oowekyala, which, like neighbouring Haisla and Kwak'wala, are part of the Northern Wakashan language group.
Culture
Historically, Heiltsuk bands each had their own territory and possessed their own winter villages, head chiefs, and dialects. Winter villages consisted of large cedar plank houses with gabled rooves, double ridgepoles and carved interior posts. The Heiltsuk economy focused on the harvesting and preservation of wild fish, birds, land and sea mammals, and plants; also no domesticated animals. Traditionally, the Heiltsuk divided the year into a secular summer harvesting season and a winter sacred season, when most ceremonies were conducted. Heiltsuk society was stratified into a hierarchy of five groups of people: head chief, chief, noble, commoner and low-class person. The Heiltsuk were (and are) renowned for their ceremonies, arts, and spiritual power.