The Nootka (nut'-kah), also known as the Nuu-chah-nulth, were North American Indians who lived along the seaward coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. Along with the Kwakiutl, these two tribes formed the Wakashan language family.

The name Nootka was first applied as a tribal name by the explorer Captain James Cook, who mistakenly thought that since they were in Nootka Sound, that they were the "Nootka." Today, however, the term "Nootka" refers to all speakers of the Wakashan language, including the Nootkan, Nitinat, and Makah tribes. Extreme differences, including obvious social organization and attitudes toward individual status, separated not only the Nootka, but all Indians of the Pacific Northwest coast from other North American tribes.