we are snaw-naw-as

history

The Snaw-naw-as is the name for our people, after the sole survivor of a battle in the 1800’s we are located in Nanoose Bay, British Columbia. Our community often known as the Nanoose First Nation, along with 18 other tribes in the Salish Sea, are Coast Salish people, and one of the most northern tribes on the east side of Vancouver Island. We speak Hul’q’umi’num’, which is 1 of 3 branches of the Halkomelum dialect spoken from Nanoose to Oregon.