Nuxalk
/ˈnuːxɑːlk/noun
Nuxalk is the Indigenous people of the Bella Coola region of British Columbia and the name of their language.
Did you know?Nuxalk is a language isolate within the Coast Salish area’s wider cultural landscape, and its traditional territory is often called Bella Coola Valley after a colonial-era exonym.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact
Nuxalk
Nuxalk
“An Indigenous self-designation associated with the people and language of the Bella Coola region”
18th–19th Century
Nuxalk
Nuxalk
“The name used by the people for themselves and their language”
18th Century
European records
Bellacoola
“An early European rendering of the regional name, later standardized as Bella Coola”
19th Century
English
Bella Coola
“An exonym used for the Nuxalk people, their language, and their valley”
Modern English
English
Nuxalk
“The preferred modern English form for the Indigenous nation and its language”
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