Chinookan
Encyclopedia
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...
region of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, speaking the Chinookan languages
Chinookan languages
Chinookan is a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples.-Family division:Chinookan languages consists of three languages with multiple varieties. There is some dispute over classification, and there are two ISO 639-3 codes assigned: and...
. In the early 19th century, the Chinookan-speaking peoples lived along the lower and middle Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
in present-day 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...
and Washington. The Chinook tribes were those encountered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
in 1805 on the lower Columbia.
Historic lifestyle
The Chinook were not nomadic. At birth Chinooks would flatten some children's heads by applying pressure with a board, enabling, in turn, a social hierarchy that placed flat-headed community members above those with round heads. This ranking was inherited. Living near the coast of the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, they were skilled elk hunters and fishermen. The most popular fish was Salmon. Owing partly to their non-migratory living patterns, the Chinook and other coastal tribes had relatively little conflict over land with one another. They also lived in long houses with more than fifty people in one long house.
Today
Some are currently engaged in a continuing effort to secure formal recognition of tribal status by the U.S. Federal government. The U.S. Department of Interior initially recognized the Chinookan as a tribe in 2001. Subsequently, the department first reconsidered and then, in 2002, revoked this status.List of Chinook peoples
- Cathlamet
- Cathlahmahs
- Chilluckittequaw
- ClatsopClatsopThe Clatsop are a small tribe of Chinookan-speaking Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the early 19th century they inhabited an area of the northwestern coast of present-day Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia River south to Tillamook.-Language:Clatsop in the...
- Chahcowah
- Clackamas
- Clowwewalla
- Cushook
- Echelut (Wasco-WishramWasco-WishramWasco-Wishram are two closely related Chinook Indian tribes from the Columbia River in Oregon. Today the tribes are part of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington.-History:...
) - Kilooklaniuck
- MultnomahMultnomah (tribe)The Multnomah were a tribe of Chinookan people who lived in the area of Portland, Oregon, more specifically Sauvie Island, in the United States through the early 19th century. Multnomah villages were located throughout the Portland basin and on both sides of the Columbia River...
- Skillot
- Wahkikum (Wac-ki-cum)
- Wappato or Wapato
- Wascopa
- WatlataWatlataThe Watlata are a group of Chinookan-speaking Native Americans. They inhabited the meadows of Sams Walker Day Use Site, near Skamania, Washington, and St. Cloud Ranch Day Use Site. An interpretive sign at Sams Walker states that the Watlata lived in earth-sheltered cedar plank homes...
(Cascade or WishramWasco-WishramWasco-Wishram are two closely related Chinook Indian tribes from the Columbia River in Oregon. Today the tribes are part of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington.-History:...
).
Most surviving Chinooks live in the towns of Bay Center
Bay Center, Washington
Bay Center is a census-designated place in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 174 at the 2000 census. The population increased to 276 at the 2010 census...
, Chinook
Chinook, Washington
Chinook is a census-designated place in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 457 at the 2000 census and increased to 466 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, and Ilwaco
Ilwaco, Washington
Ilwaco is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 950 at the 2000 census and decreased to 936 at the 2010 census.-History:...
in southwest Washington.
Many books have been written about the Chinook, including, Boston Jane: an Adventure.
Famous Chinooks
- Chief ComcomlyChief ComcomlyChief Comcomly or Concomly was a Native American chief of the Chinookan people. He was the principal chief of the Chinook Confederacy, which extended along the Columbia River from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean....
- Charles Cultee, the principal informant employed by Franz BoasFranz BoasFranz 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...
for his work published as Chinook Texts - Ranald MacDonaldRanald MacDonaldRanald MacDonald was the first man to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Commodore Perry and the Tokugawa Shogunate.-Early life:MacDonald was born at Fort Astoria, in the Pacific Northwest of...
, a half-Chinook, born in Fort Astoria, OregonAstoria, OregonAstoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, to Archibald McDonaldArchibald McDonaldArchibald McDonald was Chief Trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Langley, Fort Nisqually and Fort Colville and one-time deputy governor of the Red River Settlement.-Early life:...
, a ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
fur trader, and Raven, chief Concomly's daughter, was the first Westerner to teach English in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, in 1847-1848, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters that would later handle the negotiations between Commodore Perry and the Tokugawa ShogunateTokugawa shogunateThe Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was... - Catherine TroehCatherine TroehCatherine Herrold Troeh was an American historian, artist, activist and advocate for Native American rights and culture, especially in the Pacific Northwest...
, historian, artist, activist and advocate for Native American rights and culture. She was a member and elder of the Chinook tribe and a direct descendant of Chief Comcomly - Chief Tumulth, signed the treaty that created the Grand Ronde Reservation and was later killed by Gen. Philip SheridanPhilip SheridanPhilip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...