The Wuikinuxv () are an Indigenous First Nations people of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada, located around Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake, to the north of Queen Charlotte Strait.
Name The name Wuikinuxv translates to "Backbone people". They have also been known as the Oweekano (pre-1976); Oowekeeno (1976–2003), with variations: Oweekeno, Owekano, Oweekayno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Awikenox,William C. Sturtevant, 1978. Handbook of North American Indians: Northwest Coast or the Rivers Inlet people. The Wuikinuxv people and their neighbours, the Heiltsuk and Haisla peoples, were in the past sometimes known incorrectly as the "Northern Kwakiutl".
History The name used for the main village on Katit Indian Reserve No. 1, which is on an island in the Wannock River, that connects Owikeno Lake to Rivers Inlet, "Wannock", means "poison" and refers to an 1848 raid by the Heiltsuk, as recounted by John Thomas Walbran in his book about coastal names in British Columbia:BC Names/GeoBC entry "Owikeno Lake"
Language
Oowekyala, the language of the Wuikinuxv, is closely related to the Heiltsuk language, so much so that it is considered one of two dialects of a language named Heiltsuk–Oowekyala, the other dialect being Heiltsuk. It is also closely related to Haisla and is also related to Kwak'wala, the most widely spoken of the Northern Wakashan languages. It is more distantly related to Nuu-chah-nulth, Ditidaht and Makah, the Southern Wakashan languages.
Government The government of the Wuikinuxv people is the Wuikinuxv Nation. The Wuikinuxv Nation is a member of the Wuikinuxv-Kitasoo-Nuxalk Tribal Council, based in the town of Bella Coola.
Location and services The small community of Rivers Inlet, on the banks of the 3 km Wannock River, is the main centre in Wuikinuxv territory. Nearby is the non-Indian reserve First Nations community of Oweekeno.BC Names/GeoBC entry "Oweekeno (First Nation Village)" Rivers Inlet has an airstrip and daily service from a local airline. In summer, airline service is disrupted by the traffic in and out of the sport-fishing camps.
Culture The Wuikinuxv shared cultural similarities with neighbouring Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Coast. At its height, Wuikinuxv territory encompassed the mouth of Rivers Inlet to the headwaters of Owikeno Lake.
The Wuikinuxv constructed a Big House in 2006. This cedar building provides a space for community gatherings and ceremonies.
Ethnobotany They eat the berries of Vaccinium vitis-idaea ssp. minus.Compton, Brian Douglas, 1993, Upper North Wakashan and Southern Tsimshian Ethnobotany: The Knowledge and Usage of Plants..., Ph.D. Dissertation, University of British Columbia, page 101
References
Further reading We Are the Wuikinuxv Nation: Wuikinuxv/Rivers Inlet, Pam Brown, Pacific Northwest Curator, Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, 2001
External links Wuikinuxv Nation website