Geography:
Nuxalk Nation members live in the Bella Coola valley. They have a traditional territory within the Central Coast regional area in British Columbia. It lies approximately 560 km northwest of Vancouver.

The territory covers an area of 16,000 km² and is one of the last areas of coastal temperate rainforests left in the world. The Nuxalk have depended on these forests for subsistence for almost ten thousand years. In the last century, these lands have been taken away without any treaties having been signed.

People:
Population:

About 900 Nuxalkmc live on reserves in Bella Coola while the total population of the valley is close to 3,000 people.

Language:

The Nuxalk language is part of the Coast Salish dialect. Today this language is being taught at Acwsalcta School and in the public school.
Religion &Culture:
The Nuxalk have a strong belief in their Creator, Tatau and in Manakays, the Great Spirit. Songs and dances are an important part of their culture. These songs and dances come from the land; they tell who they are. Feasting & pot latching are part of Nuxalk tradition and are still practiced today. The practice continued even when the Canada government tried to stop it.

An example of Nuxalk ceremonies is the “Tu tus kwanataw” - the Cry song ceremony-. It is performed when a loved one moves on to the spirit world. The Cry song of the Raven Smayusta holds numerous teachings: the strength of the medicine in the spruce bough comes from this story.

The believe that in the December solstice, Manakays and the angels have a meeting in heaven and decide who will die, how many children will be born, how many fish will go up the river; basically decides if the community will prosper. The belief is that each person is born with a cmnwas, a "guardian spirit".

Economy:

Forestry and fishing are the traditional and primary sources of income and employment of the region; however access to these resources is increasingly made more difficult for the Nuxalk community. Activities are often carried out by companies on their territories that infringe on Aboriginal title and rights, according to the Delgamuukw decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1997.

Nuxalk artists are world-renowned for their craft and many fine works can be purchased from local artists. Unemployment is very high among the adult population, seasonally reaching 80%.
“Eventually our natural resources will be limited in time. The wood and the fish are getting scarce. This means a lot to us. The old men of the tribe told us to be very careful with our land and property here, not to give it away or sell it. We want to let you know that the fish is the same as a bank. This is where we derive our income.”
- Jim Pollard, Nuxalk Statement made to the McKenna McBride Commission (1912- 1916)

History:

Located on the Northwest Coast of the province of British Columbia, Canada, the Nuxalk Nation has an elaborate social history that developed over thousands of years. When the province of B.C. joined the Dominion of Canada in 1871, the Nuxalk people, along with all the other First Nations, became wards of the state according to the federal government; however, the Nuxalk have never ceded, sold, surrendered or lost their traditional lands through act of war. The federal Indian Act, established in 1876, solidified the reserve system and other restrictive laws including the banning of the potlatch from 1884 to 1951.

The community revived the potlatch in 1978. In 1985 the Nuxalk Nation opened its own school where Nuxalk language and culture are taught. Today, the Nuxalk Nation has seven reserves in the Bella Coola area.

Environmental problems:

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 asserts that the Aboriginal inhabitants have the title to their land until the Crown enters into treaty with them. The Nuxalk nation is a sovereign nation. It has not had any treaty negotiations with the Canadian government or with any other foreign government. The Nuxalk people have held and still hold title and ownership to all the lands and resources within their historical territorial boundaries. This declaration was reaffirmed in 1982, 1992, 1995, and 1996.
The protection of the Nuxalk Nation’s right to their territory and other human rights are stated in the Canadian Constitution of 1982, including the rights and freedoms recognized in the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

However Nuxalk Territory is threatened by logging. Today clear-cut logging permits are granted at a rate of 50% above the declared sustainable yield level; 1.2 million cubic meters of timber is removed each year from Nuxalk Territory, with just minimal local employment generated. (Statistics Canada). None of the logging is done through consent of the Nuxalk people.

Several conflicts emerged because of the logging:

In early September 1995, members of the Nuxalk Nation and their supporters initiated a blockade near Bella Coola, British Columbia to stop International Forest Products Ltd (Interfor) from constructing a logging road into their traditional
territory, Ista (Fog Creek).

They wanted to claim and stop all the bad effects of the actions of big logging corporations like the destruction of Old Nuxalk village sites, hunting grounds, fishing grounds, grave sites, and sacred areas. This declaration explains their action: “ We, the Nuxalkmc, can no longer stand by and watch total devastation of our Nuxalk traditional way of life. We can no longer stand by and allow Interfor to destroy the link to our survival as Nuxalkmc."

Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) began gathering an assault force on the mainland coast near Bella Coola. 22 people were arrested. At the B.C. Supreme Court, in Vancouver, all but 4 of the arrestees were released after signing an agreement to honour the injunction protecting Interfor logging operations. The 3 hereditary chiefs remained in jail during almost a month.
The trial didn’t give satisfaction to the Nuxalk people who are still struggling.

In 1999 a British Columbia Supreme Court judge gave six members of the Nuxalk First Nation suspended jail sentences and two years probation for their efforts in preventing International Forest Products from clear cutting an ancient rainforest valley in the Great Bear Rainforest. The defendant stood on a logging road for 19 days along with members of Greenpeace, the Forest Action Network and other environmental groups during a 1997 protest, which stopped logging crews from entering the Nuxalk's sacred valley of "Ista".

The Nuxalk Nation House of Smayusta is asking for an immediate recognition of their sovereignty and an immediate end to industrial logging on their lands.

But the Nuxalkmc’s way of life is not only threatened by logging. Their survival is also endangered by the fishery industry. In 2002, the Nuxalk nation was threatened by the encroachment of the development of Atlantic salmon hatchery in its traditional territory. Omega Fish Farms is in the process of building an Atlantic salmon hatchery in Ocean Falls on the mid coast of British Colombia.


Organizations:
The Nuxalk People are represented in UNPO by House of Smayusta, which is the Longhouse (Government) governed by the Hereditary Chiefs and a Council of Elders.


Statistics:
Website: http://www.nuxalknation.org