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For other uses, see Snoqualmie (disambiguation).

Snoqualmie
sdukʷalbixʷ
Patkanim, a prominent Snoqualmie leader in the 19th century
Regions with significant populations
Washington, United States
Languages
Lushootseed, now also English
Religion
Traditional religion; Christianity, incl. syncretic forms
Related ethnic groups
Other Lushootseed-speaking peoples, esp. the Skykomish, Duwamish, and Sammamish

The Snoqualmie people (Template:Lang-lut)[1] are a Southern Coast Salish people indigenous to the Snoqualmie Valley, located in east King and Snohomish counties in the state of Washington.

Today, they are enrolled in the federally recognized tribes: Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and Tulalip Tribes of Washington.

Name

The name "Snoqualmie" is derived from the Lushootseed endonym of the Snoqualmie: Template:Lang-lut. The name is composed of a root, Template:Lang-lut, and the suffix Template:Lang-lut, meaning "people of."[1]

The etymology of the root is contested. According to the Snoqualmie Tribe, the name means "people of the moon," with the root Template:Lang-lut referring to Template:Lang-lut, the Changer, and the highest god in traditional Snoqualmie religion.[2] Another possible etymology is that the name means "worthless people," with the homonymic root word Template:Lang-lut meaning "worthless," the name a result of the coast dwelling peoples low opinion of the inland Snoqualmie. It has also been proposed that the root Template:Lang-lut may instead have the connotation of "fearless," resulting in the name meaning "fearless people," which is a more likely meaning than "worthless people," according to linguists Dawn Bates and Thom Hess.[1]

Snoqualmie has also historically been spelled many ways, including Snoqualmu, Snoqualmoo, Snoquelolmi,[3] Snoqualmick, Snoqualamuke, and Snuqualmi.[citation needed]

History

Treaty of Point Elliott

In 1855, the Snoqualmie were party to the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty at Muckilteo (Template:Lang-lut). Fourteen Snoqualmie men signed the treaty. "Chiefs" and "subchiefs" were arbitrarily assigned to be representative of various tribes and subgroups, which solidified the power of singular men, leaving out other traditional community leaders. Around this time, there had emerged two highly important leaders of the Snoqualmie, Patkanim and Sonowa, who were both recognized at different points as "chiefs" of the Snoqualme. Patkanim was given representation of all villages downstream of Template:Lang-lut, including the independent Skykomish and Snohomish peoples. Sonowa was given representation of all Snoqualmie villages upstream of Template:Lang-lut.[4] To Indian Agent Michael Simmons at the time, Sonowa was seen as "one of the very best Indians in [the] district," whereas Patkanim was seen as a troublemaker.[5]

The Snoqualmie were originally supposed to be removed from their lands to the coastal Tulalip Reservation, first intended to be a general reservation for all peoples west of the Cascades. A temporary reservation on the then-named Snohomish Bay was to be established solley for the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish, and Stillaguamish, as well as their several subgroups. These lands were wholly unsuitable for the Snoqualmie, an inland people. Not only were the Snoqualmie not suited for a saltwater lifestyle, but the treaty commission vastly underestimated the amount of people who lived in the area. Early estimates by the commission in 1854 suggested that only 300-400 people lived on the entire Snohomish and Stillaguamish watersheds. By 1856, American estimates reached as high as 1800. On the other hand, the US government would grant the same amount of land intended for 1800 people to just four white settlers (if they were married) under the Donation Land Claim Act. Multiple people, including Sonowa and Agent Simmons, pleaded to the U.S. Government to establish a reservation inland for the Snoqualmie, on the basis that they would not be able to live on the saltwater due to their inland lifestyle.[6]

Reservation Era

After the signing of the treaty, the Snoqualmie did make an attempt to move to the reservation as indicated in the treaty. Sonowa may have initially left with his people to the Tulalip Reservation, but they ended up back to the Snoqualmie Valley. The Tulalip Reservation did not have enough food or land to support the Snoqualmie in addition to the many other peoples on the reservation, so most returned to their homelands. In 1856 and in 1858, Indian Agents requested multiple times for a reservation to be created near Snoqualmie Falls, however, no reservation was created. Most Snoqualmie could not obtain land at Tulalip either, resulting in the Snoqualmie becoming practically landless.[7]

By 1919, many Snoqualmie still lived in their communities in or near pioneer settlements such as Tolt and Fall City, working in logging camps and saw mills. Indian Agent Charles Roblin reported to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs on the state of the Snoqualmie.[8] Around this time, the Snoqualmie population was around 4,000.[9]

In the 1940s, the Superintendent of the Tulalip Agency again recommended the purchase of a separate reservation for the Snoqualmie.[10]

Eventually, the Snoqualmie Tribe of Indians purchased land for and were granted a Reservation near Snoqualmie, Washington, on which the tribe opened the Snoqualmie Casino in 2008.[11]

Territory and villages

The traditional territory of the Snoqualmie consists of the Snoqualmie River watershed, from North Bend downriver to its confluence with the Skykomish.[12] Although it is difficult to determine the exact locations and boundaries, the Snoqualmie also traveled widely throughout the Cascade mountains adjacent to their territory.[3]

According to some historians, the Skykomish were historically a sub-group of the Snoqualmie. However, most experts today agree that, although they were closely allied and intermarried, the Skykomish were completely separate and autonomous from the Snoqualmie.[13][14]

Villages

Around the time of the treaty, the Snoqualmie had around 16 villages consisting of at least 58 longhouses, although the exact number of villages is hard to determine.[15] The Snoqualmie built their villages along the Snoqualmie River and its tributaries, primarily at the mouth of the main tributary creeks. Most of the villages were located below Snoqualmie Falls (Template:Lang-lut)[16] with the largest being located at the mouth of Tokul Creek (Template:Lang-lut),[16] Cherry Creek, Fall City, and Carnation (Template:Lang-lut).[17][16]

Snoqualmie villages were not united under a single leader. Instead, each village was completely sovereign and autonomous, allied together through shared dialect, kin, and culture. Although some leaders (such as Patkanim) were highly influential and wielded great influence, they traditionally had no actual authority over any other village.[5]

List of Snoqualmie villages[18][15]
Name Anglicization(s) Location Notes
Stapts At the mouth of Cherry Creek
Template:Lang-lut[16] Across the Snoqualmie River from Carnation (Template:Lang-lut) Largest village on the Snoqualmie River; central village of the Template:Lang-lut
Stossel Creek
Skashia Griffin Creek, on a prairie 5 houses
Toquiki Patterson Creek 8 houses
Yetsk Fall City Second-largest village on the Snoqualmie River
Yahakabulch Unknown 9 houses
Schwalp Unknown 4 houses
Template:Lang-lut Tokul, Toquill Tokul Creek 7 houses
Template:Lang-lut[16] Skwut Below Snoqualmie Falls (Template:Lang-lut) 3 houses
Template:Lang-lut[16] Bokwab Snoqualmie Prairie 8 houses
Tswodum Between the South and Middle Forks of the Snoqualmie River 5 houses
Template:Lang-lut[16] Sotsoks 1 mile below North Bend, on the South Fork Snoqualmie River Common gathering place for winter ceremonies and potlatches

Culture and society

Seasonal patterns

Like other Coast Salish peoples, the Snoqualmie were traditionally a complex hunter-gatherer society. They operated on a yearly pattern revolving around the different seasons. In the spring and summer, hunting and gathering was the most common activity. In the fall and early winter, the focus shifted towards fishing.[19]

Housing

The Snoqualmie traditionally constructed several types of housing. The largest, most important, and most famous building in Snoqualmie culture is the longhouse.

The Snoqualmie also constructed temporary structures of several designs. Some temporary mat houses were shaped in a conical design. The Snoqualmie also had a semi-permanent longhouse along Lake Sammamish.[20] The Snoqualmie also sometimes built sweat lodges.[17]

Subsistence

The Snoqualmie traditionally had a well-rounded diet consisting of many plant and animal resources from the diverse ecosystem of their homelands.

Known to their saltwater-dwelling neighbors as some of the best hunters, the Snoqualmie primarily hunted deer, elk, bear, goat, beaver, grouse, and duck for their meat, pelts, and other resources. Hunting was a large part of the traditional Snoqualmie lifestyle, and hunting trips were frequent and long, lasting upwards of 2–3 weeks. Deer were hunted everywhere, from their homelands in the valley to the islands in the Sound. Elk hunters traveled to the territory of the neighboring Skykomish people. Mountain goats were hunted in the Cascade Mountains. While the best spot in Snoqualmie territory for goat hunting was at the headwaters of the South Fork, people also hunted at the headwaters of the North Fork and at Stampede Pass and Granite Mountain.[21]

Seafood, primarily fish, was another highly important resource of the Snoqualmie. Fisheries were located at every village location up to the falls, as well as other important locations on smaller streams and lakes. There were six common methods of fishing: with spears, with baskets, with gillnets, with traps, with dip nets, and with weirs. The most common fishing method was with large river-spanning weirs which served to control the stream of fish. Dip nets could be easily dropped into the water and raised to gather great amounts of fish. Fish were primarily dried and stored for the winter.[22][23]

Berries and other plant resources were traditionally gathered by women. Gathering trips consisted of traveling to a creek or other location near the berry grounds, sometimes in tandem with a hunting group, where a camp was set up. Camps often had temporary dwellings, as well as drying and processing racks for the berries, as well as any fish caught or meat gathered from animals during the trip. Berries were collected and brought back to the camp for drying and storage. Berries gathered include huckleberries, blackberries, elderberries, salmonberries, cranberries, and strawberries. Some berries were gathered in the marshes and lakes and prairies of the lowlands. Others were gathered high up on the mountains and in the passes, which were the favored gathering areas of many Snoqualmie women. Slash-and-burn techniques were used to maintain the ecosystem and promote growth.[19]

In the early contact period, the Snoqualmie began growing and harvesting potatoes at the prairies in their territory.[24] Snoqualmie Prairie was one such location, which produced impressive quantities of potatoes.[22]

After the signing of the treaty, many Snoqualmie began to make their living by working in logging camps or sawmills.[25]

Travel and trade

The Snoqualmie traveled widely throughout their territory and beyond. Living in the foothills of the Cascades, they had close relations with several interior peoples, such as the Yakama, Wenatchi, and the Klickitat. The Snoqualmie regularly crossed over the mountains using several passes, which connected the vast trade networks of the Puget Sound to the other side of the mountains. The oldest pass used to cross the mountains was Snoqualmie Pass. However, after the adoption of horses, the Yakima Pass was easier to cross on horseback and soon became the more commonly-used route, and Snoqualmie Pass fell out of use. Today, sections of Interstate 90 follows the trade routes used by the Snoqualmie.[26]

The Snoqualmie were on the path of several major trade routes across the Cascades. One major route, starting near what is now the Seattle Waterfront, the route passed around Lake Washington towards Issaquah and into the Snoqualmie Valley, where it continued along the Snoqualmie River and across the mountains. Another major trade route to the northern Puget Sound between the Snohomish and Yakama peoples passed through Snoqualmie territory, via the Snoqualmie River. Due to being directly on the path of trade between the east and west sides of the mountains, the Snoqualmie directly controlled trade flowing across the mountains, allowing them to become very powerful in relation to other Puget Sound peoples.[27]

The Snoqualmie also made great use of canoes, like other Indigenous peoples on the Northwest Coast. Although there were major barriers to river travel like Snoqualmie Falls, it was common to simply portage canoes around the falls to continue along the river. The Snoqualmie used canoes in their own territory, and they also kept canoes near Mercer Slough (Template:Lang-lut) for use on Lake Washington, which could also be used on journeys to the Sound.[27]

Language

Main article: Lushootseed

The traditional language of the Snoqualmie is Lushootseed, calləd Template:Lang-slh in the Snoqualmie dialect.[28] Lushootseed is a Coast Salish language which was historically spoken from what is now Bellingham to the head of Puget Sound at Olympia.[29] Lushootseed is divided into two mutually-intelligible main dialects, Southern Lushootseed (sometimes called Twulshootseed or Whulshootseed) and Northern Lushootseed. Unlike their downriver neighbors, the Snohomish, the Snoqualmie speak a subdialect of Southern Lushootseed similar to the Muckleshoot and Duwamish.[3][30]

Although usage of Lushootseed has declined in recent years, now mainly restricted to cultural and ceremonial uses, the Snoqualmie Tribe has a language program dedicated to revitalizing the language. The department aims to increase the language's use in daily life, as well as use it in conjunction with teaching the cultural practices of the Snoqualmie people. The website of the Snoqualmie Language Program features many resources available for learning Lushootseed, such as lists of vocabulary, phrases, and links to helpful websites.[28]

Due to their historical closeness with the Sahaptin-speaking Yakama and Wenatchi peoples across the Cascades, some Snoqualmie were bi-lingual in Lushootseed and Sahaptin.[17]

Successor tribes

Snoqualmie Indian Tribe

Main article: Snoqualmie Indian Tribe

The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe based in Snoqualmie, Washington. The Snoqualmie Tribe was recognized by the BIA as some kind of tribal entity for about 100 years, until around the 1950s. Around that time, the federal government ceased to recognize the tribe, however, it is not clear why or when this recognition ceased to exist. In 1927, the Snoqualmie Tribe joined many other Western Washington tribes in a lawsuit against the federal government, Duwamish et al v. the United States. At that time, Jerry Kanim, treaty rights activist and nephew of Patkanim, was the chief of the Snoqualmie Tribe. The non-recognized Snoqualmie eventually reorganized as the Snoqualmie Tribal Organization, whose membership was primarily composed of non-reservation Snoqualmie listed on 1919 and 1923 lists.[31]

Tulalip Tribes of Washington

Main article: Tulalip Tribes

The Tulalip Tribes of Washington is a federally recognized tribe based in Tulalip Bay, Washington. The tribe was created by the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott as the successor to the Snohomish, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, and Stillaguamish peoples. Although most Snoqualmie stayed in their homelands, many Snoqualmie were able to gain land on the Tulalip Reservation, whose descendants make up the Snoqualmie community at Tulalip.[4]

Notable Snoqualme

References

  1. ^ a b c Bates, Dawn; Hess, Thom; Hilbert, Vi (1994). Lushootseed Dictionary. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-295-97323-4. OCLC 29877333.
  2. ^ "Snoqualmie Indian Tribe Culture Department". Snoqualmie Tribe Culture Department. Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Hollenbeck, Jan L. (1987). A Cultural Resource Overview: Prehistory, Ethnography, and History: Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Portland: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. p. 170. OCLC 892024380.
  4. ^ a b c Lane, Barbara (October 15, 1975). Identity, Treaty Status and Fisheries of the Snoqualmie Tribe of Indians (PDF).
  5. ^ a b c Hollenbeck 1987, p. 179.
  6. ^ Lane 1975, p. 3-5.
  7. ^ Lane 1975, p. 8-9.
  8. ^ Lane 1975, p. 11-12.
  9. ^ Krishnan, Sonia (January 4, 2005). "Snoqualmie Tribe on road to self-sufficiency". nathpo.org.
  10. ^ Lane 1975, p. 2.
  11. ^ Mapes, Lynda V.; Miletich, Steve (November 2, 2008). "Snoqualmie Tribe's big bet: The casino that almost wasn't". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  12. ^ Haeberlin, Hermann; Gunther, Erna (1930). "The Indians of Puget Sound". University of Washington Publications in Anthropology. 4 (1): 7.
  13. ^ Hollenbeck 1987, p. 161.
  14. ^ Lane 1975, p. 30.
  15. ^ a b Lane 1975, p. 27-30.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Hilbert, Vi; Miller, Jay; Zahir, Zalmai (2001). sdaʔdaʔ gʷəɬ dibəɬ ləšucid ʔacaciɬtalbixʷ - Puget Sound Geography. Original manuscript from T.T. Waterman. Lushootseed Press. pp. 182–5. ISBN 979-8750945764.
  17. ^ a b c Hollenbeck 1987, p. 171.
  18. ^ Hollenbeck 1987, p. 172.
  19. ^ a b Hollenbeck 1987, p. 173-5.
  20. ^ Hollenbeck 1987, p. 173.
  21. ^ Hollenbeck 1987, p. 173-4.
  22. ^ a b Hollenbeck 1987, p. 175.
  23. ^ Lane 1975, p. 33-36.
  24. ^ Lane 1975, p. 6.
  25. ^ Hollenbeck 1987, p. 180.
  26. ^ Hollenbeck 1987, p. 176-8.
  27. ^ a b Hollenbeck 1987, p. 178.
  28. ^ a b "Language Program". Snoqualmie Tribe Culture Department. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  29. ^ "About dxʷləšucid Lushootseed". Tulalip Lushootseed. Tulalip Tribes of Washington. December 5, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  30. ^ Hess, Thom (1977). "Lushootseed Dialects". Anthropological Linguistics. 19 (9): 403–419 – via JSTOR.
  31. ^ Lane 1975, p. 2, 15-16, 20-21.

Further reading

  • Tweddell, Colin E. The Snoqualmie-Duwamish Dialects of Puget Sound Coast Salish: An Outline of Phonemics and Morphology. University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, v. 12. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1950.
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