Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation
“We are a small, semi-rural community of about 500 on-reserve community members, with about 350 of our band members living off-reserve. The Tsulquate reserve, where most of us live, is adjacent to the town of Port Hardy on the North-eastern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Prior to 1964, we lived as two separate tribes. The Gwa’sala people mostly lived and traveled around Smith Inlet and the surrounding islands. The ‘Nakwaxda’xw people were in Seymour Inlet, the Deserter’s Group, Blunden Harbour, and surrounding islands.
In 1964 we were amalgamated [by the Canadian government] with each other (and the Kwakiutl, temporarily) and relocated to the Tsulquate Reserve, far away from our home lands.”
For more information, please visit the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation website.