Clatsop
Encyclopedia
The Clatsop are a small tribe of Chinookan
Chinookan
Chinook refers to several native amercain groups of in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, speaking the Chinookan languages. In the early 19th century, the Chinookan-speaking peoples lived along the lower and middle Columbia River in present-day Oregon and Washington...
-speaking 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...
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...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the early 19th century they inhabited an area of the northwestern coast of 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...
from the mouth of the 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...
south to Tillamook
Tillamook, Oregon
The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 4,352 at the 2000 census...
.
Language
Clatsop in the original language is La t cap, which means "placed of dried salmonSalmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
". Apparently "Clatsop" was originally the name of a single settlement.
The Clatsop dialect used by the tribe is a nearly-extinct dialect of the Lower Chinookan language, a language in the Oregon Penutian
Oregon Penutian languages
Oregon Penutian is a hypothetical language family in the Penutian language phylum comprising languages spoken at one time by several groups of Native Americans in present-day western Oregon and western Washington in the United States...
family. Most Clatsops spoke Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
and some spoke a dialect of Nehalem
Tillamook language
Tillamook is an extinct Salishan language, formerly spoken by the Tillamook people in northwestern Oregon, United States. The last fluent speaker is believed to have died in the 1970s; between 1965 and 1972, in an effort to prevent the language being destroyed, a group of researchers from the...
, by the time Lewis and Clark
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...
's Corps of Discovery made contact with them.
Chinook Jargon is a trade language, and was once used throughout much of the Pacific Northwest. Many place names in the area come from the Chinook Jargon, for example, Neakahnie Mountain — "The Mountain", and Ecola Creek and Park — "whale".
History
The tribe was encountered at the mouth of the Columbia in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark ExpeditionLewis 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...
. The expedition named their last encampment Fort Clatsop
Fort Clatsop
Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805-1806...
after the tribe, whose nearest village was approximately seven miles (12 km) away. The tribe later gave its name to Clatsop County, Oregon
Clatsop County, Oregon
Clatsop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast of the Pacific Ocean prior to European settlement. As of 2010, the population was 37,039. The county seat is Astoria.-Economy:The principal...
. According to the journals of William Clark, the Clatsop comprised about 200 people living in three separate villages of large cedar-plank houses. Clatsop members regularly visited the fort for trading purposes.
The tribe has never been organized hierarchically (under "chiefs") but individual families affiliated with one another in small villages and seasonal camps located near food sources.
The Clatsop shared salmon, berries, and hunting tips with the Corps of Discovery. In contrast to the Corps' interactions with the Plains Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
the previous winter, their interaction with the Clatsop was more limited. The two groups did not mingle for social occasions and the fort was opened to trading only 24 days during the winter. Part of the reason may have been the existing relationship between the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and the coastal Chinook tribes, resulting in a demand by the Chinook for higher prices for their goods at a time when the Corps' supply of "Indian Gifts" had dwindled. Only two Clatsop, Coboway and Cuscalar, appear regularly in the corps members' journals.
In an 1851 treaty, the Clatsop tribe ceded 90 percent of their land to the U.S. Government. This treaty was one of many in the Northwest that were never ratified by Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. Unlike other tribes, the members were not required to move to a reservation, and in fact, they were the only tribe in Oregon that was not removed to a reservation.
The 200 members who have recently organized as the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederation have an average age of 65 and are scattered across Oregon and southwestern Washington. The last known speaker of the Tillamook language
Tillamook language
Tillamook is an extinct Salishan language, formerly spoken by the Tillamook people in northwestern Oregon, United States. The last fluent speaker is believed to have died in the 1970s; between 1965 and 1972, in an effort to prevent the language being destroyed, a group of researchers from the...
died in 1972. The Clatsop-Nehalem applied for membership with both the Confederated Tribes of Siletz
Confederated Tribes of Siletz
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the United States is a federally recognized confederation of 27 Native American tribal bands that once inhabited a range from northern California to southwest Washington.-Tribes:...
and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde but were turned down. In January 2001, the Chinook tribe (of which the Clatsop were included) gained official recognition, but it was reversed by the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
soon after taking office. The bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 2004–2006 has provided renewed interest in the status of the Clatsop and Chinook.
The tribe has no formal recognition today and has struggled in recent years to retain its identity. Some of the remaining members now form an unofficial confederation, the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes of Oregon, with the Salishan
Salishan languages
The Salishan languages are a group of languages of the Pacific Northwest...
-speaking Nehalem
Tillamook (tribe)
The Nehalem or Tillamook are a Native American tribe from Oregon of the Salish linguistic group. The name "Tillamook" is a Chinook term meaning "people of Nekelim " and is also spelled Calamox, Gillamooks and Killamook....
(Tillamook) tribe that once inhabited the area around Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi long and 2 mi wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon...
. Other Clatsop descendants continue to maintain their culture and ceremonies as family and small community units, as in the past.
Museum exhibits
The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum in TillamookTillamook, Oregon
The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 4,352 at the 2000 census...
contains exhibits on the history of the Clatsop.