Description
The Nuxalk people, also referred to as the Bella Coola, Bellacoola or Bilchula, are an Indigenous First Nation of the Pacific Northwest Coast, centred in the area in and around Bella Coola, British Columbia. Their on-reserve tribal government is the Nuxalk Nation. Before contact, the Nuxalk population is estimated to have been approximately 35,000, according to oral histories and academic research, although Mooney in 1928 estimated that there were 1,400 Nuxalk in 1780. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic reduced the Nuxalk to only 300 survivors by 1864. In 1902, according to Mooney, there were 302. Nuxalk people were scattered throughout the territory and either relocated on their own to survive, or were forcibly removed by the Department of Indian Affairs.
Language
The Nuxalk Nation traditionally has spoken the Nuxalk language.
Culture
Knowledge of family ancestry remains strong among the Nuxalk, including villages of descent, family crests, as well as songs and dances that recount the history and myth in smayustas. Nuxalk religion includes a belief in a creator or father God (Alhkw'ntam), his son (Manaakays). There is also a goddess in Nuxalk spiritual beliefs, Qamayts. Nuxalk society remains close-knit and embraces traditional beliefs. Nuxalk villages traditionally consisted of descent groups who traced their lineage to a group of first ancestors. Historically, the Nuxalk were a fishing, hunting and gathering society. Salmon and eulachon ("candlefish") fishing in the Bella Coola River historically has been important to the Nuxalk economy.