nootka

English - English

Definition of nootka in English English dictionary

or (since 1980) Nuu-chah-nulth Any of several bands of Northwest Coast Indian people of southwestern Vancouver Island, B.C., Can. , and northwestern Washington, U.S. The name Nuu-chah-nulth, which they adapted in preference to Nootka (given them by others), means "Along the Mountains." They speak a Wakashan language. Culturally related to the Kwakiutl, the Nootka were specialized whale hunters. They moved seasonally, returning to their principal homesites during the winter. Local groups were usually socially and politically independent. The most important religious ceremony was the shaman's dance, a reenactment of mythological themes that ended with a potlatch. Today the Nuu-chah-nulth number about 6,000

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

a Wakashan language spoken by the Nootka people

a member of the Wakashan people living on Vancouver Island and in the Cape Flattery region of northwestern Washington

Related Terms

Nootka Sound

An inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the western coast of Vancouver Island in southwest British Columbia, Canada. It was explored by Capt. James Cook in 1778

Nootka Sound Controversy

(1790) Dispute between Spain and Britain over ship seizures off the western Canadian coast. Spain seized four British trading ships in Nootka Sound, an inlet of Vancouver Island, Can., in accordance with Spanish claims to the northwestern coast of America. Britain threatened war, maintaining that sovereignty necessitated actual occupation of the land. Spain yielded to British demands and signed an agreement acknowledging the right of each country to trade and establish settlements on unoccupied land

nootka cypress

tall evergreen of the Pacific coast of North America often cultivated for ornament

Hyphenation

Noot·ka