Bella Coola
/ˈbɛlə ˈkuːlə/noun
Bella Coola is a community and former regional district in British Columbia, Canada, associated with the Nuxalk people and Bella Coola Valley.
Did you know?“Bella Coola” is an exonym: the Nuxalk people traditionally call themselves Nuxalk, while the familiar name arose from a Heiltsuk designation recorded and reshaped by Europeans.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact
Nuxalk
Nuxalk
“The Nuxalk people’s own name for themselves; the community now called Bella Coola lies in their traditional territory.”
Pre-contact
Heiltsuk
bḷ́xʷlá
“A Heiltsuk name for the Nuxalk, commonly glossed in sources as “stranger” or “outsider.””
18th–19th Century
Heiltsuk
bilxula / bəlxwla
“Variant forms transmitted through neighboring Indigenous languages and reshaped in outside records.”
1793
European records
Bella Coola
“The name entered European geographic usage after Alexander Mackenzie’s expedition reached the area.”
19th Century
English
Bella Coola
“An anglicized and conventionalized spelling used for the valley, settlement, river, and surrounding region.”
Modern English
English
Bella Coola
“A recognized place-name in British Columbia, while Nuxalk remains the people’s preferred self-designation.”
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