It stretches inland to include Cowichan Lake. It reaches down Nitinaht Lake and deep into the forests. It extends along the coast between Bonilla Point and Pachena Point and encompasses a considerable distance offshore.
On the other side of Bonilla Point live our close relatives, the Pacheenaht, and to the northwest of Pachena Point is the country of our neighbours the Ohiaht who speak a different language.
More generally, Ditidaht territory on land extends to the headwaters of the streams and rivers which drain down to the coastline. Ditidaht territory extends out to sea and includes the rich salmon, halibut and cod banks that feed our people.
Ours is a big country that is rich in the foods we like to eat. Every year the salmon come back to rivers like the Cheewhat, Hobarton and Nitinaht. We can always get mussels from the rocky coastline and sea urchins in the shallow waters. And there are thousands of crabs scurrying around the lower end of Nitinaht Lake, just waiting to be trapped. Deer and elk are in the forests and berries of all types are growing on the hillsides. Ducks are everywhere. People never go hungry in Ditidaht country!
Oral tradition indicates that at one time–some say this was before the Great Flood–the da7uu7aa7tx, the original Nitinaht people–lived in the Nitinaht Lake area. These da7uu7aa7tx people were joined later by the diitiid7aa7tx, the people who had come from Tatoosh Island across the Strait of Juan De Fuca and established a settlement at Jordan River. Indeed, the Nitinaht Indian term for Jordan River is diitiida; those who established the village at Jordan River were called diitiid7aa7tx, which means ‘diitiida people.’ This term, diitiid7aa7tx, is anglicized as “Ditidaht.” That is why we are called “Ditidaht” (“dee-tee-daht”), which is often pronounced “Nitinaht.” “Nitinaht” is a “Westcoastized” pronunciation of diitiid7aa7tx, as “d” in Nitinaht is pronounced “n” in Westcoast (formerly called “Nootka”), the language spoken between Pachena Point and Cape Cook.
Boundaries between territories were looked upon very seriously by the old-time Ditidaht and their neighbours. Sometimes these boundaries were noted by large boulders on the beach or by points of land; the people told stories relating how major disagreements erupted when valuable items drifted in from sea and settled on a boundary, and how occasionally, boundary disputes were resolved by holding jumping contests.
Our knowledge of our boundaries is retained in oral tradition. Some of our stories talk about the time before the Whiteman arrived on the coast, when there were many more people defending their villages and salmon streams. Villages were raided, people were killed, and some groups became extinct. This situation continued well into the 1800s, resulting in a great deal of change in territories as groups disappeared or amalgamated with others.
Amalgamation of small groups and relocation of some villages has caused some confusion in what is Ditidaht territory and what belongs to our neighbours. To sort out such problems we have turned to our elders, the tradition-bearers of our history. They have told us their stories, translated stories recorded by past generations of elders, and importantly, have considered the diversity of opinion that results from history’s oral transmission.
We have also searched archives for early reports on our people and their whereabouts. Dr. Robert Brown who stated the following on the basis of his extensive explorations of this region in 1864 made one of the earliest statements about the boundaries of Ditidaht territory:
They [the Ditidaht] have–or had–many villages, from Pachena Bay to the west and Karleit [kalaayit, just east of Bonilla Point] to the east, besides three villages in Nettinaht Inlet, eleven fishing stations on the Nettinaht River, three stations on the Cowitchan Lake, and one at Sguitz [Skutz Falls] on the Cowitchan River itself.