Chimakum
Encyclopedia
The Chimakum, also spelled Chemakum and Chimacum (Aqokúlo was their own name; sometimes they were called the Port Townsend Indians), were a Native American
people who lived in the northeastern portion of the Olympic Peninsula
, between Hood Canal
and Discovery Bay
through the mid-19th century. Their primary settlements were on Port Townsend Bay
, on the Quimper Peninsula
, and Port Ludlow Bay
to the south. They are extinct, although a few members may be mixed in with the Twana (Skokomish
) of the Skokomish Reservation, and the Jamestown S'Klallam
and Port Gamble
Klallam
tribes.
The Chimakum population was estimated at 400 in 1780 and 90 in 1855. The Census of 1910 enumerated just three. In the present day there are people who identify as Chimakums or descendants of Chimakums.
Chimakum Creek and Chimacum, Washington
, both located in the Chimacum Valley, are all named after the Chimakum.
and very similar to the Quileute language
. It is now extinct
. It was spoken until the 1940s on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula between Port Townsend and Hood Canal. The name Chimakum (or Chemakum) is an Anglicized version of a Salishan
word for the Chimakum people, such as the Twana word čə́bqəb [t͡ʃə́bqəb] (earlier [t͡ʃə́mqəm]).
In 1890 anthropologist Franz Boas
found only three speakers of the Chemakum language, and they spoke it imperfectly.
and deposited on the other side of the Olympic Peninsula.
The Chimakum had a reputation for being warlike. Shortly before 1790 they were fighting a number of tribes, including the Snohomish
, Snoqualmie
, Klallam, Makah, and Ditidaht
(or Nitinaht
).
In 1847 a disastrous conflict with the Suquamish
devastated the Chimakum, effectively wiping them out. According to Wahélchu of the Suquamish, various conflicts and tensions between the Suquamish and Chimakum had reached the point where the Suquamish decided to launch of "war of extermination" as soon as some immediate provocation was offered. At least two pretexts for war soon came to pass and a war party was organized. Because Chief Kitsap
, the Suquamish war chief, was either dead or unable to lead, Chief Seattle
, for whom the city of Seattle was named, became the leader of the war against the Chimakum. The Suquamish under Chief Seattle were assisted by about 150 Klallam
warriors. Before long the Chimakum were confined to one village with a stockade, located near the mouth of Chimakum Creek, near present-day Irondale
. The village stronghold was named Tsetsibus, or C'íc'abus, and had long been an important gathering place. The Suquamish warriors hid themselves near the village and waited for a good chance to attack. A Chimakum family left the village and headed north, passing by the hidden Suquamish. The father was recognized as the man responsible for the death of respected Suquamish Tulébot, which had been one of the pretexts for war. The Suquamish immediately fired a volley of bullets. Many of the Chimakum villagers rushed to help the man and his family. Seeing the village mostly empty, the Suquamish rushed through the woods and entered the village from behind. Once their numbers inside the stockade were sufficient, the Suquamish opened fire upon the Chimakum inside the village. The Chimakum were taken completely by surprise and found themselves unable to resist or escape. According to Edward S. Curtis
, recounting Wahélchu's telling, "the rapid rain of bullets mowed them down." Women and children were captured and taken away as slaves. The Suquamish paddled away, leaving the last Chimakum village in ruins and nearly all of the people either dead or captured. One of the few Suquamish who died in the encounter was Chief Seattle's eldest son.
The few surviving Chimakum, including the primary chief who had gone upstream early that morning, subsequently joined the Twana, or Skokomish
, at the head of Hood Canal. After the extinction of the Chimakum their country was occupied by the Klallam.
In 1855 the Twana and Chimakum, along with the Klallam, signed the Point No Point Treaty
, which established a reservation at the mouth of the Skokomish River
near the southern end of Hood Canal. One of the Chimakum signatories of the treaty was Chief Kulkakhan, also known as General Pierce.
The Point No Point Treaty required the Klallams to move to the Skokomish Reservation, but few did. In 1936–37 the federal government established Klallam reservations for the Lower Elwha
and Port Gamble communities. The Jamestown community was not federally recognized until 1981. The Klallams filed a claim with the Indian Claims Commission
for compensation beyond that already received for lands ceded under the Point No Point Treaty. The Klallams claimed that the Chimakums were nearly extinct at the time of the Point No Point Treaty and that those few Chimakums left had been absorbed into the Klallam tribe. The Klallams had occupied the former Chimakum lands and claimed them as their own. In 1957 the commission recognized the Klallam claim of possession of the Chimakum lands at the time of the treaty and granted compensation of over $400,000.
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...
people who lived in the northeastern portion of the Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
, between Hood Canal
Hood Canal
Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins, of Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway.-Geography:...
and Discovery Bay
Port Discovery, Washington
Port Discovery, Washington is the historical name of what is now called Discovery Bay, a bay in the U.S. state of Washington on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. It was also called Port Discovery Bay for some time, a name that can be found on maps from...
through the mid-19th century. Their primary settlements were on Port Townsend Bay
Port Townsend Bay
Port Townsend Bay, also called Port Townsend, is a marine inlet off Admiralty Inlet at the northeastern extreme of the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It was named Port Townsend by George Vancouver in 1792. The name Port Townsend Bay is sometimes used to distinguish the bay from...
, on the Quimper Peninsula
Quimper Peninsula
The Quimper Peninsula is a narrow peninsula forming the most northeastern extent of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state in the northwestern United States of America....
, and Port Ludlow Bay
Port Ludlow, Washington
Port Ludlow is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. It is also the name of the marine inlet on which the CDP is located. The CDP's population was 1,968 at the 2000 census. Originally a logging and sawmill community, its economy declined during the first half of...
to the south. They are extinct, although a few members may be mixed in with the Twana (Skokomish
Skokomish (tribe)
The Skokomish are one of nine tribes of the Twana, a Native American people of western Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives along Hood Canal, a fjord-like inlet on the west side of the Kitsap Peninsula and the Puget Sound basin...
) of the Skokomish Reservation, and the Jamestown S'Klallam
S'Klallam (Jamestown)
The Jamestown S'Klallam is a tribe of the S'Klallam or Klallam Native American group on the northern Olympic Peninsula of Washington state in the northwestern United States...
and Port Gamble
Little Boston, Washington
Little Boston is an unincorporated community in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located east of the community of Port Gamble, on Port Gamble's harbor...
Klallam
Klallam
Klallam refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam culture is classified ethnographically and linguistically in the Coast Salish subgroup...
tribes.
The Chimakum population was estimated at 400 in 1780 and 90 in 1855. The Census of 1910 enumerated just three. In the present day there are people who identify as Chimakums or descendants of Chimakums.
Chimakum Creek and Chimacum, Washington
Chimacum, Washington
Chimacum is an unincorporated community in eastern Jefferson County, Washington, United States. It lies on the Olympic Peninsula. It was named after the Chimakum group of Native Americans that lived there until the late 19th century.Chimacum is the home of Chimacum Schools' main campus, which...
, both located in the Chimacum Valley, are all named after the Chimakum.
Language
The Chemakum language was one of two Chimakuan languagesChimakuan languages
The Chimakuan language family consists of two languages spoken in northwestern Washington, USA on the Olympic Peninsula. It is part of the Mosan sprachbund, and one of its languages is famous for having no nasal consonants...
and very similar to the Quileute language
Quileute language
Quileute , also known as Quillayute , is the only surviving Chimakuan language, spoken by a few Quileute and Makah elders on the western coast of the Olympic peninsula south of Cape Flattery at La Push and the lower Hoh River in Washington state, USA...
. It is now extinct
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
. It was spoken until the 1940s on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula between Port Townsend and Hood Canal. The name Chimakum (or Chemakum) is an Anglicized version of a Salishan
Salishan languages
The Salishan languages are a group of languages of the Pacific Northwest...
word for the Chimakum people, such as the Twana word čə́bqəb [t͡ʃə́bqəb] (earlier [t͡ʃə́mqəm]).
In 1890 anthropologist Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
found only three speakers of the Chemakum language, and they spoke it imperfectly.
History
According to Quileute tradition, the Chimakum were a remnant of a Quileute band. The Chimakum had been carried away in their canoes by a great flood through a passageway in the Olympic MountainsOlympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
and deposited on the other side of the Olympic Peninsula.
The Chimakum had a reputation for being warlike. Shortly before 1790 they were fighting a number of tribes, including the Snohomish
Snohomish (tribe)
The Snohomish are a Lushootseed Native American tribe who reside around the Puget Sound area of Washington, north of Seattle. They speak the Lushootseed language. The tribal spelling is Sdoh-doh-hohbsh, which means "wet snow" according to the last chief of the Snohomish tribe, Chief William...
, Snoqualmie
Snoqualmie (tribe)
The Snoqualmie Tribe is a tribal government of Coast Salish Native American peoples from the Snoqualmie Valley in east King and Snohomish Counties in Washington state. The Snoqualmie settled onto the Tulalip Reservation after signing the Point Elliott Treaty with the Washington Territory in 1855...
, Klallam, Makah, and Ditidaht
Ditidaht First Nation
The Ditidaht First Nation is a First Nations government on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.-See also:*Nitinaht language*Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council*Nuu-chah-nulth-External links:*...
(or Nitinaht
Nitinaht language
Ditidaht is a South Wakashan language spoken on the southern part of Vancouver Island. Nitinaht is related to the other South Wakashan languages, Makah and the neighboring Nuu-chah-nulth....
).
In 1847 a disastrous conflict with the Suquamish
Suquamish
The Suquamish are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American Tribe, located in present-day Washington in the United States.The Suquamish are a southern Coast Salish people; they spoke a dialect of Lushootseed, which belongs to the Salishan language family. Like many Northwest Coast natives, the...
devastated the Chimakum, effectively wiping them out. According to Wahélchu of the Suquamish, various conflicts and tensions between the Suquamish and Chimakum had reached the point where the Suquamish decided to launch of "war of extermination" as soon as some immediate provocation was offered. At least two pretexts for war soon came to pass and a war party was organized. Because Chief Kitsap
Chief Kitsap
Kitsap or Ktsap was a war chief of the Suquamish Tribe. Born 1770/80-Died April 18, 1860. One source says that he was the most powerful chief on Puget Sound from 1790 to 1845...
, the Suquamish war chief, was either dead or unable to lead, Chief Seattle
Chief Seattle
Chief Seattle , was a Dkhw’Duw’Absh chief, also known as Sealth, Seathle, Seathl, or See-ahth. A prominent figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with David Swinson "Doc" Maynard. Seattle, Washington was named after him...
, for whom the city of Seattle was named, became the leader of the war against the Chimakum. The Suquamish under Chief Seattle were assisted by about 150 Klallam
Klallam
Klallam refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam culture is classified ethnographically and linguistically in the Coast Salish subgroup...
warriors. Before long the Chimakum were confined to one village with a stockade, located near the mouth of Chimakum Creek, near present-day Irondale
Port Hadlock-Irondale, Washington
Port Hadlock-Irondale is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,476 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Port Hadlock-Irondale is located at...
. The village stronghold was named Tsetsibus, or C'íc'abus, and had long been an important gathering place. The Suquamish warriors hid themselves near the village and waited for a good chance to attack. A Chimakum family left the village and headed north, passing by the hidden Suquamish. The father was recognized as the man responsible for the death of respected Suquamish Tulébot, which had been one of the pretexts for war. The Suquamish immediately fired a volley of bullets. Many of the Chimakum villagers rushed to help the man and his family. Seeing the village mostly empty, the Suquamish rushed through the woods and entered the village from behind. Once their numbers inside the stockade were sufficient, the Suquamish opened fire upon the Chimakum inside the village. The Chimakum were taken completely by surprise and found themselves unable to resist or escape. According to Edward S. Curtis
Edward S. Curtis
Edward Sheriff Curtis was a photographer of the American West and of Native American peoples.-Early life:...
, recounting Wahélchu's telling, "the rapid rain of bullets mowed them down." Women and children were captured and taken away as slaves. The Suquamish paddled away, leaving the last Chimakum village in ruins and nearly all of the people either dead or captured. One of the few Suquamish who died in the encounter was Chief Seattle's eldest son.
The few surviving Chimakum, including the primary chief who had gone upstream early that morning, subsequently joined the Twana, or Skokomish
Skokomish (tribe)
The Skokomish are one of nine tribes of the Twana, a Native American people of western Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives along Hood Canal, a fjord-like inlet on the west side of the Kitsap Peninsula and the Puget Sound basin...
, at the head of Hood Canal. After the extinction of the Chimakum their country was occupied by the Klallam.
In 1855 the Twana and Chimakum, along with the Klallam, signed the Point No Point Treaty
Point No Point Treaty
The Point No Point Treaty was signed on January 26, 1855 at Point No Point, on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. Governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens, convened the treaty council on January 25, with the S'Klallam, the Chimakum, and the Skokomish tribes...
, which established a reservation at the mouth of the Skokomish River
Skokomish River
The Skokomish River is a river in Mason County, Washington, United States. It is the largest river flowing into Hood Canal, an arm of Puget Sound. From its source at the confluence of the North and South Forks the main stem Skokomish River is approximately long. The longer South Fork Skokomish...
near the southern end of Hood Canal. One of the Chimakum signatories of the treaty was Chief Kulkakhan, also known as General Pierce.
The Point No Point Treaty required the Klallams to move to the Skokomish Reservation, but few did. In 1936–37 the federal government established Klallam reservations for the Lower Elwha
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is a federally recognized and sovereign Native American nation. The tribe is part of the larger Klallam culture, part of the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest. The traditional territory of the Klallam is the north and northeast portion of the Olympic...
and Port Gamble communities. The Jamestown community was not federally recognized until 1981. The Klallams filed a claim with the Indian Claims Commission
Indian claims commission
The Indian Claims Commission was a judicial panel for relations between the United States Federal Government and Native American tribes. It was established in 1946 by the United States Congress to hear claims of Indian tribes against the United States...
for compensation beyond that already received for lands ceded under the Point No Point Treaty. The Klallams claimed that the Chimakums were nearly extinct at the time of the Point No Point Treaty and that those few Chimakums left had been absorbed into the Klallam tribe. The Klallams had occupied the former Chimakum lands and claimed them as their own. In 1957 the commission recognized the Klallam claim of possession of the Chimakum lands at the time of the treaty and granted compensation of over $400,000.