Meanings
- alternativeAlternative form of Oowekyala.
The 'Wuìk̓inux̌v Nation is a member of the 'Wuìk̓inux̌v-Gitdisdzu-Nuxalk Tribal Council. The 'Wuìk̓inux̌v people speak 'Wuìk̓ala, a northern Wakashan language.
2025 September 19 (last accessed), “Vancouver Coastal”, in First Nations Health Authority, archived from the original on 10 Sep 20252 more examples
Along the central coast of British Columbia, grizzly bears go by many names. In the Sgüüx̣s language spoken by the Kitasoo Nation and the Sm’algyax language of the Gitga’at Nation, they are known as medi’ik. And in the Haíɫzaqvḷa, It7Nuxalkmc, ‘Wuik̓ala, and Xai’xais languages, bears are called nan. The reasons for such differences of language, new research suggests, may be similar to the reasons that grizzly groups differ genetically in the region.
2021 August 5, Gloria Dickie, “The Language of Bears: New research reveals a curious connection between British Columbia’s Indigenous language families, and the genetic variability of bears”, in Hakai MagazineI am one of the Wakashan speaking group. I speak the ‘Wuík̓ala (Oweekino) language. I learned to speak Hailzaqvla (Heiltsuk) language, and am now teaching this language.
2007, Evelyn Windson Wákas, “Heiltsuk place names: a Wakashan perspective”, in Kristin M. Jóhannsdóttir and Martin A. Oberg, editors, ICSNL XLII UBCWPL020
Origin
- Heiltsuk'Wùik̓ala
- English'Wùik̓ala
Unadapted borrowing from Heiltsuk 'Wùik̓ala.
More words from Heiltsuk
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
'Wùik̓ala. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'W%C3%B9ik%CC%93ala
“'Wùik̓ala.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'W%C3%B9ik%CC%93ala. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “'Wùik̓ala,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'W%C3%B9ik%CC%93ala.
Source: 'Wùik̓ala on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.