Between Documentation and Dispossession: the Language of the Nuu-chah-nulth People in the Journals of James Cook's Third Voyage.

This article examines the linguistic and cultural encounters between James Cook's third voyage (1776–1779) and the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Vancouver Island in 1778, highlighting how European documentation of indigenous languages contributed to epistemological dispossession. The official 1784 account of the expedition, particularly through the work of surgeon William Anderson and others, recorded Nuu-chah-nulth vocabulary and communication practices but framed them within a Eurocentric narrative that excluded indigenous knowledge systems and portrayed indigenous peoples as historically static. The study illustrates how language documentation was instrumental in establishing European monopolies over history and territory, reinforcing colonial claims while marginalizing indigenous perspectives. It also discusses the complexities and misunderstandings inherent in early cross-cultural communication, including the transcription challenges of Nuu-chah-nulth sounds and the misinterpretation of social and ritual practices. The article advocates for interdisciplinary approaches incorporating indigenous studies, ethnohistory, and linguistics to reassess such colonial sources and better understand early modern transcultural encounters.