The Wannock River is a short river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Central Coast region

British Columbia Coast

The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....

 of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, draining Owikeno Lake

Owikeno Lake

Owikeno Lake, also Owekeeno Lake, Owekano Lake, Oweekayno Lake and other spellings , is a large fjord lake in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It connects to the head of Rivers Inlet by the short Wannock River...

 and entering Rivers Inlet

Rivers Inlet

Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance from the Dean Channel near that fjord's mouth, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the western entrance of the...

 at the head of that inlet, adjacent to the town of the same name

Rivers Inlet, British Columbia

Rivers Inlet is an unincorporated settlement and First Nations community of the Wuikinuxv people, located at the head of the inlet of the same name in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. The community is located adjacent to the Wannock River, a short waterway connecting Owikeno...

, which is the main modern settlement of the Wuikinuxv (Owikeno) people. Katit Indian Reserve No.1 is located around the banks of the river, including Katit Island, which is an island in the river.

Name

The river has also been known as the Owikeno River or Oweekayno River, but was renamed:

The lake is about 35 miles long, and connected with the inlet by the Oweekayno river now known by the name, adopted by the Indians, of Wannuck (sic); the meaning of which is "poison", as in olden times visitors to the tribe, evidently unwelcome, had the reputation of dying suddenly, these deaths being attributed to poison. About 1848 this tribe suffered dreadfully through a slave raid made by the powerful Bella Bellas

Heiltsuk

The Heiltsuk are an Indigenous First Nations of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation...

, who after inviting the tribe to a potlatch....awaited their guests in ambush, and as they unsuspectingly arrived, one canoe after another, poured a deadly fire into them, killing all the men and capturing the women and children. The following morning the Bella Bellas advanced on Katil

Katil

The Katil are a Rajput clan, found in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.- History and origin :The clan claims descent from Raja Karet, driven from the plains of Punjab by Mahmud of Ghazna, settled in Mangla Devi, a fort in Jammu...

 [one of their oldest and principal villages being on a small island...situated in the lake at the head of the river.] making a further surprise in which 3 men and 1 woman were killed and 32 woman and children captured.

See also

• Whonnock, British Columbia
• Unuk River
  Unuk River
  The Unuk River is a river in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Behm Canal, northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska....