Nuu-chah-nulth

[ noo-chah-noolth ]

noun

, plural Nuu-chah-nulths, (especially collectively) Nuu-chah-nulth

1. a member of an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, now living primarily in northwestern Washington State and on southwestern Vancouver Island.
2. the Wakashan language of the Nuu-chah-nulth.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Nuu-chah-nulth or their language.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nuu-chah-nulth¹

First recorded in 1975–80; from Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka); literally, “all along the mountains and sea” (of Vancouver Island ( def ), common to all the Nuu-chah-nulth)

Example Sentences

The conflict dates back to colonization of Nuu-Chah-Nulth territory, which the 14 tribes in that region did not surrender or cede.

From Seattle Times

Over the years, various Nuu-Chah-Nulth nations have entered into negotiations with the British Columbia and Canadian government over land claims and rights to their traditional territories.

From Seattle Times

The Nuchatlaht’s victory is just part of the Indigenous-led conservation momentum in Nuu-Chah-Nulth territory, where a Salmon Parks initiative also is underway to protect uncut land and allow logged forests to recover, and with them, the salmon runs that forests nourish and protect.

From Seattle Times

The elegant installation design was conceived by WHY, a Los Angeles-based architectural firm led by Kulapat Yantrasast, in close collaboration with the museum’s North American ethnology curator, Peter Whiteley, and independent scholar Haa’yuups, a Nuu-chah-nulth cultural historian of the Huupa’chesat-h First Nation on Vancouver Island, Canada.

From Los Angeles Times

That’s also true for the counselors themselves, said Mia Klick, the lifeline coordinator and a Tulalip Tribes and First Nations Nuu-Chah-Nulth descendant.

From Seattle Times