Alert Bay

British Columbia

Alert Bay is a beautiful village on Cormorant Island, off the north west coast of Vancouver Island and home to 1,200-1,500 people, over half of which are the 'Namgis people. The village is in traditional Kwakwaka'wakw territory.

The Kwakiutl are Kwak'wala-speaking Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous people. The traditional territories are in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining mainland, and on islands around Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait.

Their language, now spoken by only 3.1% of the population, consists of four dialects of what is commonly referred to as Kwak'wala. These dialects are Kwak̓wala, ’Nak̓wala, G̱uc̓ala and T̓łat̓łasik̓wala

MORE INFO:

U'mista Cultural Centre

'Namgis First Nation