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'Klallam' (also 'Clallam', although this spelling is disliked by the Klallam community) refers to four distinct but otherwise related indigenous Native American/First Nations peoples from the Pacific Northwest of North America. Three Klallam bands live on the Olympic Peninsula in the far northwest corner (bordering the Strait of Juan de Fuca) of Washington state, and one is based at Becher Bay on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Contents

Name variants and usage

History

Pre-Contact

Transportation

Photographs

Tribal groups

See also

References

Further Reading

External links

Name variants and usage

The Coast Salish name for the tribe (meaning "strong people") was impossible to represent accurately using English syllables, thus resulting in a variety of English spellings. These variations included "S'Klallam", "Ns'Klallam", "Klallam" and "Clallam". "Clallam" was used by the Washington Territory legislature in 1854 when it created Clallam County. The following year "S'klallam" was used in the Point No Point Treaty. In the following decades the simpler "Klallam" or "Clallam" predominated in the media and research literature. In 1981 "S'Klallam" was used when the United States Department of the Interior officially recognized the Lower Elwha, Jamestown, and Port Gamble (or Little Boston) tribes.
The Jamestown tribe has adopted "S'Klallam" as its official spelling.

History

Pre-Contact

Before the arrival of Europeans to the Pacific Northwest the territory inhabited by the Klallam stretched across the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula from the Pacific Ocean to Puget Sound and also included the souther tip of Vancouver Island across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Klallam villages were mostly located along the coast, while some villages were inland along rivers or large lakes.
Based on early interviews of tribal elders by early ethnologists and anthropoligists, the estimated number of Klallam villages has ranged from ten to over thirty, with some ambiguity in distinguishing permanent from seasonal settlements, and some villages with mixed or disputed tribal identity.
While language and tradition united the Klallam people, there were extensive trade, inter-marriage, and other forms of cooperation between the Klallam and surrounding tribes. The Klallam shared villages with the Makah on the Pacific Coast as far south at the Hoh River, and fishing villages with the Twana as far south as the Hamma Hamma River on the Hood Canal. The Quimper Peninsula was shared with the Chemakum tribe.

Transportation

The rugged terrain and dense vegetation of the Olympic Peninsula made the canoe the preferred mode of transportation. The canoes were carved from western red cedar (''Thuja plicata'') through an intricate and arduous process requiring great skill, beginning with the selection of the proper tree. Stone adzes, fire, and heated water were used to hollow and shape the canoe. This knowledge was passed to a select few of each generation, and some of the canoes were purchased from other tribes, especially the larger ones.
There were two main types of canoes used by the Klallam: The smaller Coast Salish type used on protected waters, and the larger Chinook style for use in rougher waters. The smaller type of canoe had a rounded bottom and was 12-30 feet long, 20-48 inches wide, and 9-20 inches deep. This type was used on calm waters for fishing or to haul small loads. The larger canoes had flat bottoms and could be over 30 feet long, six feet wide, and three feet deep. These were used on the rougher waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and in particular off the Pacific coast, for whaling, transporting larger loads, and carrying up to thirty passengers.
Early white settlers in the area noted the great skill the Klallam used in canoe handling and navigation, and that the Klallam canoes tended to be larger than those used by other Puget Sound tribes.

Photographs

Tribal groups

★ Klallam (Lower Elwha) Native American subtribe

★ S'Klallam (Jamestown) Native American subtribe

★ S'Klallam (Port Gamble, aka Little Boston) Native American subtribe

★ Becher Bay First Nation

See also

★ Klallam language

★ Little Boston, WA

References

★ Stauss, Joseph H. ''The Jamestown S'Klallam Story: Rebuilding a Northwest Coast Indian Tribe''. Sequim, Washington: Jamestown S'Klallam, December 2002. ISBN 0-9723753-0-9

Further Reading

★ Alphabetical vocabularies of the Clallam and Lummi, Gibbs, George, , , Cramoisy Press, 1863, Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection

External links

★ Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

★ Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe

★ Elaine Grinnell, Klallam storyteller and basket & drum maker

★ Washington Post: "Northwest Tribe Struggles to Revive Its Language"

★ Klallam language

★ Thomas Charles Sr.

★ S'Klallam or Klallam (Olympic National Park)

★ S'Klallam Tribe

★ Tribes of the Olympics

★ 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.