Atfalati
Encyclopedia
The Atfalati, also known as the Tualatin
were a tribe or band of the Kalapuya Native Americans
who originally inhabited the Tualatin Valley
in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Oregon
. The tribe had permanent villages they inhabited during the winter months located on the shores and vicinity of Wapato Lake
(which has since been drained), and near the modern cities of Beaverton
, Forest Grove
, and Hillsboro
.
. Primary food stuffs included deer, camas
root, fish, berries, elk, and various nuts. To encourage the growth of the camas plant and maintain habitat beneficial to deer and elk, the group burned the valley floor to discourage the growth of forests, a common practice among the Kalapuya. Little is known of the Atfalati native customs. Their language was studied by Albert Samuel Gatschet
, and most of what has been learned of the Kalapuyan tongue is from the Atfalati dialect.
Euro-Americans began arriving in the Atfalati's homeland in the early 19th century, and settlers in the 1840s. By this time diseases had decimated Native populations in the Pacific Northwest
, including the Atfalati. It is estimated that the band was reduced to a population of around 600 in 1842, and had shrunk to only 60 in 1848. The United States government negotiated a treaty in 1851 with the group to allow for a small reservation on Wapato Lake, but the treaty was never ratified. In 1855, the government negotiated a new treaty with the larger Kalapuya group that included the Atfalati tribe. This treaty removed the Atfalati to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in the western part of the Willamette Valley
at the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range
where they lived with a variety of other tribes. After their removal to the reservation, tribal numbers have dwindled to about 20.
Tualatin
Tualatin may refer to:* Tualatin , a part of the Kalapuya Native American tribe in western Oregon in the United States* Tualatin Academy, a building and former school in Forest Grove, Oregon...
were a tribe or band of the Kalapuya Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
who originally inhabited the Tualatin Valley
Tualatin Valley
The Tualatin Valley is a farming and suburban region southwest of Portland, Oregon in the United States. The valley is formed by the meandering Tualatin River, a tributary of the Willamette River at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, east of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The tribe had permanent villages they inhabited during the winter months located on the shores and vicinity of Wapato Lake
Wapato Lake
Wapato Lake was a historic lake located in what became parts of Washington County and Yamhill County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The area is sometimes known as Wapato Lake Bed and Wapato Flat. The lake bed is located about a half mile east of Gaston at elevation...
(which has since been drained), and near the modern cities of Beaverton
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
, Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
, and Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
.
Culture
Atfalati ranged around the valley, engaged in a hunter-gather lifestyle, and may have inhabited land as far east as what is now PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Primary food stuffs included deer, camas
Camassia
Camassia is a genus of six species native to western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern California, and east to Utah, Wyoming and Montana...
root, fish, berries, elk, and various nuts. To encourage the growth of the camas plant and maintain habitat beneficial to deer and elk, the group burned the valley floor to discourage the growth of forests, a common practice among the Kalapuya. Little is known of the Atfalati native customs. Their language was studied by Albert Samuel Gatschet
Albert Samuel Gatschet
Albert Samuel Gatschet was a Swiss-American ethnologist who trained as a linguist in Europe but worked most of his career in the United States, where he studied Native American languages and cultures.-Early life and education:Albert Samuel Gatschet was born in Beatenberg, Switzerland...
, and most of what has been learned of the Kalapuyan tongue is from the Atfalati dialect.
Euro-Americans began arriving in the Atfalati's homeland in the early 19th century, and settlers in the 1840s. By this time diseases had decimated Native populations in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, including the Atfalati. It is estimated that the band was reduced to a population of around 600 in 1842, and had shrunk to only 60 in 1848. The United States government negotiated a treaty in 1851 with the group to allow for a small reservation on Wapato Lake, but the treaty was never ratified. In 1855, the government negotiated a new treaty with the larger Kalapuya group that included the Atfalati tribe. This treaty removed the Atfalati to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in the western part of the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
at the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...
where they lived with a variety of other tribes. After their removal to the reservation, tribal numbers have dwindled to about 20.