Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A member of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples: Refers to an individual belonging to the Indigenous group traditionally living on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and in northwestern Washington, USA.
   • The language spoken by this people: Refers to the Wakashan language traditionally spoken by the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples.

Usage Notes

• Historically, the term "Nootka" was commonly used by outsiders. The people's own name for themselves is Nuu-chah-nulth. In contemporary usage, "Nuu-chah-nulth" is the preferred and more accurate term.
• The term "Nootka" is still found in historical contexts, anthropological studies, and in the names of certain geographical features (e.g., Nootka Sound).

Examples

• Referring to a person:
  • The museum exhibit featured artifacts from a Nootka village.
• Referring to the language:
  • She is studying the grammar of Nootka.

Advanced Usage

• In Ethnography and History: The term is used in academic texts to discuss the culture, history, and language of these peoples within a specific historical timeframe.
  • Early European accounts described their first contacts with the Nootka.

Variants and Related Words

• Nuu-chah-nulth: The contemporary and preferred endonym (the name a group uses for itself) for the people and their language family.
• Nootkan: An adjective or linguistic term relating to the Nootka people or their language group (e.g., Nootkan languages).

Synonyms

• Nuu-chah-nulth (preferred modern synonym for the people and language)

Related Terms

• Wakashan: The larger language family to which Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) belongs.
• Nootka Sound: The historically significant inlet on Vancouver Island where early contact between Nuu-chah-nulth peoples and European explorers occurred.

Noun

1. a Wakashan language spoken by the Nootka
2. a member of the Wakashan people living on Vancouver Island and in the Cape Flattery region of northwestern Washington