Nootka
/ˈnuːt.kə/noun
A historical European name for the Nuu-chah-nulth Indigenous peoples and their traditional region on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.
Did you know?The name is now considered outdated by many Nuu-chah-nulth people, and “Nuu-chah-nulth,” meaning roughly “all along the mountains and sea,” is generally preferred as the collective name.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Nuu-chah-nulth
Nuu-chah-nulth
“The collective name used by the Indigenous peoples of western Vancouver Island; it is commonly interpreted as referring to communities distributed along the mountains and sea.”
1778
English record
Nootka
“Captain James Cook recorded the form “Nootka” after visiting the region and applying it as a place-name.”
Late 18th Century
European usage
Nootka
“European maps and accounts used the name for Nootka Sound, the surrounding region, and its Indigenous inhabitants.”
19th Century
English
Nootka
“The term became established in colonial geographical and ethnographic writing, including names for the Nootka language and Nootka people.”
20th–21st Century
English / Nuu-chah-nulth
Nuu-chah-nulth
“Nuu-chah-nulth communities increasingly promoted their own collective name, while “Nootka” remained mainly in historical and geographical names such as Nootka Sound.”
Explore more surprising origins