Kwakwaka'wakw
/ˌkwɑːkwəˈkyɑːkw/noun
An Indigenous First Nations confederacy of the Pacific Northwest Coast, whose traditional language is Kwak'wala.
Did you know?Kwakwaka'wakw is a self-designation, while “Kwakiutl”—once widely used by outsiders—originally referred more specifically to the Kwakiutl people of Fort Rupert, not the entire confederacy.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Kwak'wala
Kwak'wala
“The language of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples; the element kwak' refers to speaking or language in the ethnonym's traditional interpretation.”
Pre-contact period
Kwak'wala
Kwakwaka'wakw
“A collective self-designation traditionally glossed as “those who speak Kwak'wala.””
19th Century
English
Kwakiutl
“An English exonym derived from the name of the Kwakiutl band at Fort Rupert; it was often incorrectly extended to all Kwakwaka'wakw communities.”
Late 19th–20th Century
English
Kwakiutl
“The dominant English label in anthropological and government writing for the broader cultural-linguistic group.”
Late 20th–21st Century
English
Kwakwaka'wakw
“The preferred collective name increasingly used in English-language scholarship and public life for the Indigenous confederacy.”