Kwakiutl
Americannoun
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Also called Kwakwaka'wakw. a member of one of the First Nations of Vancouver Island and the adjacent coast of mainland British Columbia.
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Also called Kwak'wala. the Wakashan language of the Kwakiutl.
adjective
noun
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a member of a North American Indian people of N Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland
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the language of this people, belonging to the Wakashan family
Etymology
Origin of Kwakiutl
First recorded in 1845–50; from Kwakiutl Kwagu'ł, a place name
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rivers in the rainy forests of the Pacific Northwest attracted annual swarms of salmon, which members of the Chinook, Kwakiutl, Haida, and Tlingit tribes harvested and dried to last all year.
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
"Its mystical ceremony of initiation resembles in many ways that of the shamans of the Kwakiutl Indians," he says.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia think that when a salmon is killed its soul returns to the salmon country.
From The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer
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