Nooksack
/ˈnʊk.sæk/noun
A name referring to the Nooksack people, their Indigenous language, and places in northwestern Washington State.
Did you know?The Nooksack name is connected with the Nooksack people and language, but commonly circulated translations such as “always bracken fern” are not universally accepted by scholars or Nooksack speakers.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Nooksack
Nuxwsa’7
“An Indigenous Nooksack-language form associated with the people and their homeland; the precise original analysis is uncertain.”
19th Century
English records
Nooksack
“An anglicized spelling used in records for the Nooksack people and the river in northwestern Washington.”
1850s–1870s
English
Nooksack River
“The established English name for the major river flowing through the Nooksack homeland.”
20th Century
English
Nooksack
“A recognized tribal, linguistic, geographic, and community name.”
Modern English
English
Nooksack
“A proper name referring to the Nooksack Tribe, its language, places, or cultural identity.”
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