Namgis
/ˈnæmɡɪs/noun
A Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation and chiefly group traditionally associated with the northern part of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Did you know?Namgis identity is preserved through oral histories, potlatch traditions, hereditary chiefs, and ceremonial regalia rather than through a single translatable English word.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact era
Kwak’wala
N̓a̱mǥis
“An Indigenous name associated with the Namgis people; the precise original lexical meaning is not securely established in standard published etymological sources.”
18th–19th centuries
Kwak’wala / Indigenous oral tradition
N̓a̱mǥis
“A hereditary group identity maintained through oral histories, chiefly lineages, territories, and ceremonial practice.”
19th century
English colonial records
Namgis; Nimpkish
“Colonial spellings used for the people and their territory around the Nimpkish River and northern Vancouver Island.”
20th century
English
Namgis
“An established English spelling referring to the Namgis people and their political community.”
Modern English
English / Kwak’wala
’Namgis First Nation
“The contemporary legal and governmental name commonly used for the Namgis First Nation, headquartered at Alert Bay, British Columbia.”
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