The Nuu-chah-nulth, also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tribes whose traditional home is on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Three Nuu-chah-nulth children in Yuquot, 1930s
Nootka eagle mask with moveable wings, Ethnological Museum, Berlin, Germany
A Nuu-chah-nulth woman selling baskets in Nootka Sound in the 1930s
Nuu-chah-nulth basket about two inches wide
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and practices, such as the centrality of salmon as a resource and spiritual symbol, and many cultivation and subsistence practices. The term Northwest Coast or North West Coast is used in anthropology to refer to the groups of Indigenous people residing along the coast of what is now called British Columbia, Washington State, parts of Alaska, Oregon, and Northern California. The term Pacific Northwest is largely used in the American context.
Chief Anotklosh of the Taku Tribe of the Tlingit people, ca. 1913
Ceremonial cape, Tlingit people
Kwakwakaʼwakw people at a wedding ceremony in 1914
A Kwakwakaʼwakw canoe in 1910.