Quinault people

Quinault flag.

Quinault female profile by Edward S. Curtis, 1913.

The Quinault are a group of Native American peoples from western Washington in the United States.

Lands

The Quinault Indian Reservation, at 47°25′05″N 124°08′19″W, is located on the Pacific coast of Washington, primarily in northwestern Grays Harbor County, with small parts extending north into southwestern Jefferson County. It has a land area of 819.294 km² (316.331 sq mi) and reported a resident population of 1,370 persons as of the 2000 census. The Quinault people settled onto reservation lands after signing the Quinault Treaty with the former Washington Territory in 1856. About 60% of the reservation's population lives in the community of Taholah, on the Pacific coast at the mouth of the Quinault River.

Motorists are cautioned that it is not possible to traverse the entire reservation on Highway 109, in spite of what some online mapping services indicate. Construction of the highway north from Taholah to U.S. Highway 101 was halted in the late 1960s. There is only limited access (for private property owners and tribe members) along the northern coast of the reservation.

Language

Main article: Quinault language

There is an original Quinault language, which is a part of the Salishan family of languages. In modern times, the Quinault is a mixture of separate indigenous peoples.

Related peoples

The mixture of members with ethnic ties to the modern Quinault tribe is made up of the Quinault, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, Cowlitz, Queets, and Quileute peoples. Linguistically, these groups belong to three language families: Chimakuan (Quileute, Hoh), Chinookan (Chinook groups), and Salishan (Chehalis, Cowlitz, Queets, and Quinault).

Economy

Although Per capita is issued to some tribes whose businesses succeed, Quinault Nation economic development projects and the financial profits of these projects have not done as well. The Quinaults do not receive per capita payments.

Communities

• Amanda Park
• Queets
• Qui-nai-elt Village
• Santiago
• Taholah

References

• Quinault Reservation, Washington United States Census Bureau

External links

• Quinault Indian Nation homepage
• Quinault Indian Nation tribal council and history page (also links to treaty of 1856)
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – The Pacific Northwest Olympic Peninsula Community Museum A web-based museum showcasing aspects of the rich history and culture of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula communities. Features cultural exhibits, curriculum packets and a searchable archive of over 12,000 items that includes historical photographs, audio recordings, videos, maps, diaries, reports and other documents.
• Inventory of the Quinault Indian Reservation Collection, 1939 - 1977, in the Forest History Society Library and Archives, Durham, NC