Ooligan For centuries ooligan have been an important source of nutrition and trade for the Nuxalk. Ooligan were eaten fresh or smoked, or rendered into grease. While there are many ways to spell the name of this sea-going smelt (eulachon, oolichan, hooligan, ulichan, oulachen, hoolikan...), there is no mistaking the importance of this food to the diet and economy of the Nuxalk people. The oil of the ooligan is called grease because it is solid at cool temperatures, unlike other fish oils. It is high in nutritional value, especially in vitamins A, E and K.

Ooligan fisherman at Bella Coola, 1935

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