Kwakwaka'wakw
/kʷəˈkʷɑːkəʔkʷɑːk/noun
A collective name for Indigenous peoples of the central and northern coast of British Columbia who traditionally speak, or are connected with, Kwak’wala.
Did you know?The term Kwakiutl, once widely used in English, properly refers to one Kwakwaka’wakw nation—the Kwakiutl of Fort Rupert—not to the entire collective.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact era
Kwak’wala
Kwak’wala
“The language associated with the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples; the name is built from the ethnonym Kwakwaka’wakw plus the language-forming element -’wala.”
Pre-contact era
Kwak’wala
Kwakwaka’wakw
“A collective Indigenous self-designation conventionally translated as “those who speak Kwak’wala.””
19th Century
English
Kwakiutl
“An English rendering of Kwakwaka’wakw, originally used broadly by colonial writers but more precisely referring to the Kwakiutl nation.”
Late 20th Century
English
Kwakwaka’wakw
“The modern standardized English usage increasingly adopted to identify the larger collective and avoid confusing it with the single Kwakiutl nation.”
Modern English
English
Kwakwaka’wakw
“A self-preferred collective name used in cultural, governmental, educational, and scholarly contexts.”
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