Nootka Selections 1899 — Nuu-chah-nulth Scripture (Canada)
Overview
Nootka Selections 1899 is 4-book scripture portions in the Nuu-chah-nulth language of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, published by the British & Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) in 1899 and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 3800). This historical translation was produced using the name Nootka — the external designation that European explorers and traders applied to the people and their language from the late 18th century onward, originating from a misunderstanding during Captain Cook's 1778 visit to Nootka Sound. The community's own self-designation is Nuu-chah-nulth ("people who live along the mountains and sea"), adopted formally in the 1970s. The 1899 scripture portions represent one of the earliest published Bible texts for any Pacific Northwest Indigenous language, reflecting late 19th-century Protestant missionary and Bible Society activity on the British Columbia coast.
Language and People
Nuu-chah-nulth (ISO 639-3: nuk; historical name: Nootka) is a Wakashan language: Wakashan → Southern Wakashan branch (also called Nootkan). The Wakashan family includes two closely related branches: Northern Wakashan (Heiltsuk, Kwakwala/Kwak'wala, Oowekyala, Haisla) and Southern Wakashan (Nuu-chah-nulth, Ditidaht, Makah). The Southern Wakashan/Nootkan languages are spoken on Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula (Makah in Washington State, USA). The Wakashan family is a language isolate — not related to any other recognized language family.
The Nuu-chah-nulth community inhabits:
- Western Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada — the exposed Pacific coast from Cape Cook in the north to Victoria area in the south
- Nootka Sound and adjacent inlets — the historically most prominent Nuu-chah-nulth territory, visited by European explorers from the 1770s onward
Estimated speakers: approximately 850–1,000 fluent speakers today (severely endangered; most remaining fluent speakers are elders; active revitalization programs are underway); the historical Nuu-chah-nulth population before European contact was estimated at ~30,000.
Cultural Context
The Nuu-chah-nulth were among the first Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples to have sustained contact with European traders and explorers, beginning with Captain James Cook's visit to Nootka Sound in 1778. Nootka Sound became a major center of the maritime fur trade in the late 18th century. The Nuu-chah-nulth are known for their open-sea whaling tradition — one of very few Pacific Northwest peoples to hunt whales far offshore — and for their elaborate potlatch ceremonies and carved objects. The 1899 BFBS scripture portions were produced in the context of Presbyterian and Methodist missionary work on Vancouver Island, where several mission stations were active. The language is now critically endangered despite community revitalization efforts.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by the British & Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) (biblesociety.org.uk), founded 1804 in London as the world's first national Bible society. The 1899 Nootka publication is one of many historical texts produced through BFBS's 19th-century worldwide scripture distribution program.