Hesquiaht
/hɛsˈkwaɪ.ət/noun
A Nuu-chah-nulth Indigenous people, First Nation, and region on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Did you know?The name is an English rendering of the Nuu-chah-nulth form Ḥišqʷiʕatḥ, whose final element -atḥ refers to people or inhabitants.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Nuu-chah-nulth
Ḥišqʷiʕatḥ
“The Indigenous name of the Hesquiaht people; commonly interpreted as “people of the open sea.””
18th–19th Century
English records
Hesquiat
“An English colonial spelling used for the people, harbour, and surrounding region.”
19th Century
English
Hesquiaht
“A standardized or variant spelling appearing in maps, government records, and ethnographic writing.”
20th Century
English/Nuu-chah-nulth
Hesquiaht First Nation
“The modern legal and political name of the Indigenous governing body.”
Modern English
English
Hesquiaht
“A proper name referring to the people, their traditional territory, the harbour, or related institutions.”
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