Kwakiutl

American  

[kwah-kee-oot-l] / ˌkwɑ kiˈut l /

noun

1. Also called Kwakwaka'wakw.  a member of one of the First Nations of Vancouver Island and the adjacent coast of mainland British Columbia.

2. Also called Kwak'wala.  the Wakashan language of the Kwakiutl.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Kwakiutl or their language.

Kwakiutl British  

/ ˌkwɑːkɪˈuːtəl /

noun

1. a member of a North American Indian people of N Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Wakashan family

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Etymology

Origin of Kwakiutl

First recorded in 1845–50; from Kwakiutl Kwagu'ł, a place name

Example Sentences

In the Pacific Northwest, salmon and other fish were so plentiful that the Haida, Tlingit, and Kwakiutl tribes built elaborate and complex cultures based on the sea.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

After 1849, the Kwakiutl population was decimated, but it survives.

From New York Times • Jan. 4, 2017

To the Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Haida peoples, the most important resource was the sea.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

Towering South Alaskan Kwakiutl idols leered from dimly-lit corners; ceremonial masks hung like primitive waxworks in their showcases, their hollow eyes lit at shadowy angles by concealed spotlights.

From Time Magazine Archive

Thus in the Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Çatloltq, three British Columbia tongues, the two words for "mother" are respectively ât, abóuk; ãt, abEmp; nikH, tãn.

From The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-Day by Chamberlain, Alexander F.