The Bella Coola were located in the Pacific Northwest in British Columbia, Canada. The tribe resided on the north shore of the Bella Coola River that ran from high in the Rocky Mountains down to the Pacific Ocean. This peaceful setting provided the perfect place to live. This is actually how they got their name. When the Europeans arrived, they gave them the name Bella Coola because of the river they lived on. The Nuxalk people of the time just accepted the name that the new settlers gave them.
Their environment was typical for the area. Being so far up north it was always cooler and often got rainy. The people were familiar with all the lakes, mountains, seashores, rivers, prairies, mesas, forests, and peninsulas within their environment. In fact, the people lived with one thing in mind: to protect the river. They relied heavily on the river and the gods who allowed them to live there. This diverse terrain made for a well adapted people.
The Bella Coola used these ceremonies to honor supernatural beings. The Bella Coola believed that they were haunted when the weather was warm and safe when they receded back up to the sky when the weather was cold. They would attempt to get on the good side of the supernatural beings by honoring them in these ceremonies. During each ceremony they would achieve a trance-like state then dance through the night.
They would hide their faces behind artistically adorned masks. The masks were mostly dramatic, some were even terrifying. They had large fleshy surfaces with thick eyebrows, ponderous jowls, big eyes, and thick full lips. Their mouths were ajar as if in sudden surprise. Many of the masks came with moveable parts and faces within faces so they could tell whole stories with one mask. After each ceremony they would then burn each mask, collect their gifts and go home. Each host of the party would try to outdo the last by giving bigger and better gifts than the last person. The giveaway was a large part of the ceremony. Each member attending would receive items such as copper, shells, and other valuables .
The strength of the Bella Coola tribe was greatly dwindled in the beginning of the eighteenth century. The European explorers, Methodist missionaries, gold seekers, fur trappers, and Norwegians coming to the area brought on the onslaught. They brought on serious substance abuse and disease to the tribe. In the 1800's, the smallpox virus killed one in three of the Indians. The bodies of the Bella Coola weren't able to take on and deal with these diseases and many perished from other small viruses that flourished. From 1860 to 1900, disease and alcohol abuse really impacted the population.
Today the tribe still resides in the same area on a reservation in British Columbia. It is on the south shore now because of massive flooding damage but still on the same river. The people are positioned on 2,023.9 hectares of land and have 694 aboriginals living there with 347 living off the reservation.
http://www.thewildwest.org/native_american/society/BellaCoola.html
http://www.fanweb.org/nuxalk/nuxalk.htm
The Encyclopedia Britanica Online
Written by: Mitch Webb