Kʼómoks

The Kʼómoks (also spelled Comox) are a Coast Salish Indigenous people whose traditional territory is centered in the north-central Salish Sea and southern Johnstone Strait. They are characterized by a common language (Ayajuthem; a Coast Salishan language).

The term "Kʼómoks" derives from the Kwakʼwala word "kwʼumuxws", meaning 'plentiful'. It is very unlikely that Ayajuthem speaking people - who we now call Kʼómoks - ever used this word to refer to themselves, and may not have even seen themselves as one ethnic group as is implied by this article.

Kʼómoks is further divided based on dialect:

• The Island Comox refers to those Kʼómoks living in the area of the Comox Valley and consisted of what is now known as the Kʼómoks First Nation (consisting of the Sathloot, Sasitla, Ieeksen, and Xa’xe tribes, and the culturally distinct Pentlatch) and Qualicum First Nation (see note in Modern Governance, below).

• The Mainland Comox refer to those Kʼómoks living on the smaller islands of the north-central Salish Sea (e.g. Cortes Island) and in the river valleys around and between Jervis Inlet and Bute Inlet. These people are now organized under band governments; the Tla'amin, the Klahoose, and the Homalco.