Gilakas’la

The name ʼNa̱mg̱is comes from a story about ʼNamxxiyalegiyu (the Halibut-Like Sea Monster). Before the great flood a ʼNa̱mǥis man knew it would happen because the Creator had sent a message in his dreams. He knew he must wait by the ocean for a huge sea monster, ʼNamxxiyalegiyu whose name meant “something terrible”. When rain began and never stopped, ʼNamxxiyalegiyu arose from the depths. It was so huge that the tides dropped around the world. The man climbed onto the sea monster, but ʼNamxxiyalegiyu was so big that he seemed to be a tiny dot on its gigantic back. The Creator gave this man supernatural power with which he could breathe underwater. ‘Namxxiyalegiyu protected the man all the time that he remained under the ocean.
When the waters went down ʼNamxxiyalegiyu returned the man to his homeland. The man looked around and saw that he was all alone, so he took the name Namukustolis (Only One in the World). He came to the beach near the mouth of the ʼNa̱mǥis River. Namukustolis was very lonely, so after a time, he snared some birds and transformed them into people. This is how he started the ʼNa̱mǥis tribe. He kept the great sea monster, ʼNamxxiyalegiyu, as his tribe’s crest because it was his protector and had saved him during the great flood.

There are

1923

ʼNa̱mg̱is members

Who live in

101

different communities

There are

573

members living in ʼNa̱mg̱is territory

ʼNa̱mǥ̱is people have occupied the lands and waters that we currently live upon since time immemorial.

ʼNa̱mǥ̱is Territory encompasses the entire Nimpkish and Kokish River Watersheds on northern Vancouver Island, along with the waters and several adjacent islands in the vicinity of Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Straits.

Historically, ʼNa̱mǥ̱is resided throughout the territory, but currently are concentrated in ‘Ya̱lis (Alert Bay, Cormorant Island) There are over 1800 ʼNa̱mǥ̱is members currently living in over 100 communities in North America, as well as members in Europe, and the Middle East.
ʼNa̱mǥ̱is lands have never been ceded to any other entity, government, or outside agent, we have owned and managed these lands for thousands of years.

Our Language

Nimpkish

Nimpkish

‘Na̱mima

Kwak̓wala

P̓a̱sa (Potlatch)

Nimpkish

Nimpkish is an anglicized form of ʼNa̱mǥ̱is. If you listen to an Elder pronounce ‘Na̱mg̱is in Kwak̓wala, it can sound like “Nimpkish.” When non-Indigenous people began arriving in ʼNa̱mǥ̱is territory, they couldn’t speak Kwak̓wala, so they recorded names based on what they heard—like Nimpkish.

You can still see many of these misheard or anglicized names on maps today. For example: Woss = Wa’s, Karmutzen = Ḵamitsin, Maquilla = Ma̱kwa̱la, Kilpala = Ga̱ltbala. These are our original names for these places. Many of them are still used on the land today, just as we are still here.

These place names are also shown on the map at the bottom of this page.

‘Na̱mima

‘Na̱mima means “those of one kind” and can be compared to the word “clan” used by many other Nations.
The ‘Na̱mg̱is have five ‘Na̱mima:

  1. Tsi’tsilwa’lag̱amiThe Famous Ones

  2. Tʼłatła̱laminPresser Up Skyward Tribe

  3. Gig̱alg̱amThe First Ones

  4. Sisa̱ntʼłe’Sun Beam Tribe

  5. ʼNina̱lk̓inux̱wUp River People

Kwak̓wala

‘Na̱mg̱is speak Kwak̓wala, that is the common term for the language, with multiple dialects. These dialects are Kwak̓wala, ’Nak̓wala, Liq̓ʷala, G̱utsala and T̓łat̓łasik̓wala.

P̓a̱sa (Potlatch)

Potlatch is a chinook jargon word which is used today as an all-encompassing word for various ceremonies such as; p̓a̱sa, t̓linagila, hiługwila, and several others.

ʼNa̱mǥis territory

Discover our vast community and the story of our ancestors.

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