Our Language
Our Kwakiutl language or Kwak'wala is a Wakashan language of the Northwest Coast, traditionally spoken in our territory. Kwak'wala is the term used for the language, and Kwakwaka'wakw for the ethnic group. The Kwakwaka'wakw, or Kwak'wala speakers are the original inhabitants of the Northern Vancouver Island area. A region in mainland British Columbia was also occupied by them. The ethnic population is now 5.517 (1996) but there are only some 200 Kwak'wala speakers which account for less than 4% of the Kwakwaka'wakw population. While the language has been in decline, we are working hard to keep our ancestral language alive.
The term "Kwakwaka'wakw" was only recently coined, because there is no historic name or even a strong sense of Kwakwaka'wakw identity, though the people are joined by language, culture, and economy.
At the time of European contact in 1786, the Kwakwaka'wakw formed between 23 and 27 tribes or family groups, each allied to one chief. There was always intermarriage between groups and considerable movement for economic reasons. For example, if the chief of one group acquired a reputation for giving lavish potlatches, his group would likely increase. Each group had its own places to dig clams, fish, and so forth. Originally they were restricted nomads, moving from winter clamming beds, to spring eulichan (smelt) runs up the rivers, to summer fishing grounds. Sometimes two or more tribes shared the same village site, and group boundaries were constantly shifting owing to splits, mergers, and wars.
The coming of Europeans sped up the pace of change. Conflicts became bloodier with the introduction of guns, and new diseases decimated the population. The estimated pre-contact Kwakwaka'wakw population of 19,125 fell to just 1,039 in 1924 (Galois, 1994). Change accelerated in 1849 when the Hudson Bay Company built Fort Rupert. All the tribes came here to trade, and conflicts increased with more contact.
The lack of strong Kwakwaka'wakw identity has hindered efforts to revive the language. There is little interest in learning a dialect different from one's own, and there are five dialects. Fort Rupert was built on the Kwakiutl land, and the famous anthropologist Franz Boas further increased the prestige of the Kwakiutl through his lifelong study of them at the end of the nineteenth century, resulting in two shelves of ethnographic and linguistic materials. For these reasons, the terms Kwagiulth or Kwakiutl and the concomitant Kwak'wala became the general term for all 12 surviving groups.
The most commonly expressed reason for the decline of Kwak'wala by the Kwakwaka'wakw is that they were forbidden to speak it at St. Michael's Residential School in Alert Bay, which operated from the 1920s to the 1970s. Most Kwakwaka'wakw children, as well as children from non-Kwak'wala speaking villages to the north, attended and boarded at St. Michael's. Further study shows other reasons for the decline. Kwak'wala usage declined in lockstep with the Kwakwaka'wakw culture. Kwak'wala speakers are being attacked on many fronts. The Kwakwaka'wakw have been colonized and marginalized, and their language suffered in prestige by its association with their disadvantaged culture.
Rebirth
Although the emphasis for the Kwakwaka'wakw is primarily on spoken Kwak'wala, it is also desirable for all Kwakwaka'wakw to be able to read and write the language as well. In particular, it is important that adult Kwak'wala literacy go hand in hand with school programs providing Kwak'wala literacy for children. (see the description and Contact info for the Wagalus School on the Member Services page) In this way, the generations can be united through Kwak'wala literacy, rather than separated. Adult and child literacy can be a good way to strengthen the crucial intergenerational link. In order for adult literacy to take place, we will work toward easy-reading literacy materials and a dictionary.
To further explore the Kwak'wala language, use the links to further web resources at the top of the left column.
