The Gwaʼsala-ʼNakwaxdaʼxw Nations are an amalgamation of two Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples in a band government based on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, whose main reserve community is near the town of Port Hardy in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. In the 1960s the Gwaʼsa̱la, the ʼNakʼwaxdaʼx̱w and the Kwakiutl peoples were amalgamated. Later the Gwaʼsala-ʼNakwaxdaʼxw Nations and the Kwakiutl First Nation separated into the two groups that are recognized by the federal government. In 1964, Gwaʼsala-ʼNakwaxdaʼxw Nations were forcibly relocated from their homelands to a location near Port Hardy.
As part of the relocation, the Gwaʼsala-ʼNakwaxdaʼxw Nations, were promised that they would get a Big House to hold their cultural events. In the 2010s, the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw treaty office created a Big House Society. In 2016, it acquired timber for the project and federal funding was secured in 2017. The Big House was opened in June 2026, 62 years after the relocation.
First Nations reserves
First Nations reserves under the governance of the Gwaʼsala-ʼNakwaxdaʼxw are:Indian and Northern Affairs Canada "Reserves/Settlements/Villages Detail" Ann Island IR No. 7, on Ann Island in Smith Sound, 10.10 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Ann Island IR No. 7" Dedagaus IR No. 8, on the north shore of Seymour Inlet, 1/2 mile north of the Nahwokto Rapids, 0.30 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Dedeguahs 8 (Indian reserve)" Halowis IR No. 5, at the mouth of Smokehouse Creek at the head of Long Lake, 3.60 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Halowis 5 (Indian reserve)" Kai-too-kwis IR No. 15, at the head of Chief Nollis Bay on Allison Sound, north of Belize Inlet, 20.80 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Kai-too-kwis 15 (Indian reserve)" Kequesta IR No. 1, on the north shore of the entrance to Nuget Sound, 70.40 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Kequesta 1 (Indian reserve)" Khazisela IR No. 7, on an island in the centre of the Nahkwocto Raids at the north end of Schooner Channel, 0.40 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Khazisela 7 (Indian reserve)" Ko-kwi-iss IR No. 14, on the east shore of Allison Sound to the north of Belize Inlet, 6.40 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Ko-kwi-iss 14 (Indian reserve)" Kuthlo IR No. 18, at the head of Salmon Arm of Seymour Inlet, 3.0 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Kuthlo 18 (Indian reserve)" Kwetahkis IR No. 9, on the north shore of Whelakis Lagoon on Seymour Inlet, 4.0 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Kwetahkis 9 (Indian reserve)" Mahpahkum IR No. 4, on Deserters Island in the Deserters Group, and including small off-shore islands, 7.80 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Mahpahkum 4 (Indian reserve)" Na-kwockto IR No. 2, on three small islands at the mouth of Nugent Sound, 1/2 mile south of Kequesta IR No. 1, 0.40 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Na-kwockto 2 (Indian reserve)" Nathlegalis IR No. 3, comprising Indian Island and five smaller islands in Takush Harbour in Browning Channel, 134.40 ha. "Nathlegalis 3 (Indian reserve)" Nekite IR No. 2, at the mouth of the Nekite River at the head of Smith Inlet, 66.80 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Nekite 2 (Indian reserve)" Owh-wis-too-a-wan IR No. 10, at Eclipse Narrows at the mouth of Frederick Sound, Seymour Inlet, 5.30 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Owh-wis-too-a-wan 10 (Indian reserve)" Pahas IR No. 3, on the north shore of Blunden Harbour, 39.90 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Pahas 3 (Indian reserve)" Pel-loothʼl Kai IR No. 17, at the east end of Belize Inlet, 1.70 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Pel-loothʼl Kai 17 (Indian reserve)" Peneece IR No. 11, at the head of Wigwam Bay on the north shore of Seymour Inlet, 3.50 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Peneece 11 (Indian reserve)" Saagoombahlah IR No. 6, on the east shore of Schooner Passage east of Braham Island, 1.80 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry Saagooombahlah 6 (Indian reserve)" Ta-a-ack IR No. 5, on one of the islands in the Storm Islands at the west end of Queen Charlotte Strait, 13.90 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Ta-a-ack 5 (Indian reserve)" Toksee IR No. 4, at the junction of Long Lake and Wyclees Lagoon, 5.60 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Toksee 4 (Indian Reserve)" Tsai-kwi-ee IR No. 13, at Village Bay on the east shore of Mereworth Sound, 4.60 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Tsai-kwi-ee 13 (Indian reserve)" Tseetsum-Sawlasilah IR No. 6, on the north shore of Naysash Inlet, Smith Sound, 2.10 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Tseetsum-Sawlasilah 6 (Indian reserve)" Tsulquate IR No. 4, on the west shore of Hardy Bay, one mile north of Port Hardy, 59.90 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Tsulquate 4 (Indian reserve)" Waump IR No. 16, at the head of Allison Sound, Belize Inlet, 37.60 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Waump 16 (Indian reserve)" Wawwatʼl IR No 12, on the right bank of the Seymour River, two miles from the head of Seymour Inlet, 66.80 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Wawwatʼl 12 (Indian reserve)" Wyclese IR No. 1, on the south shore of Smith Sound at the entrance to Wyclees Lagoon, 223 ha. BC Names/GeoBC entry "Wyclese 1 (Indian reserve)"
See also Kwakʼwala (language)
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