Heiltsuk
/ˈhaɪlt.sʊk/noun
A member of an Indigenous First Nation of the central coast of British Columbia, Canada, or the language spoken by the nation.
Did you know?Heiltsuk is not an English word with a transparent translation: it is an English rendering of an Indigenous name associated with the Heiltsuk people and their language, part of the Wakashan language family.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Heiltsuk
Heiltsuk ethnonym
“An Indigenous self-designation used by the people of the central British Columbian coast; its deeper internal analysis is not securely established in standard English etymological references.”
18th–19th Century
European records
Bella Bella
“A colonial-era name applied to the Heiltsuk people and their principal community; the name became especially associated with the settlement now called Bella Bella.”
19th Century
English
Bel-bella / Bella Bella
“Variant spellings used in historical maps and ethnographic records for the people and region.”
20th Century
English
Heiltsuk
“The modern English form increasingly used in preference to the colonial label Bella Bella, particularly in official and Indigenous-led contexts.”
Modern English
English
Heiltsuk
“The name of the Heiltsuk First Nation, its people, and, in linguistic contexts, their Wakashan language.”
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