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Chehalis

  

 

Ethnie: CHEHALIS
Language: Chehalis, Upper
Family: Inland Tsamosan
Stock: Salishas
Phylum: Mosan
Macro-Culture: Northwest
Speakers All elderly
   The Chehalis were sedentary coastal hunter/gatherers and relied heavily on fishing.  The tribe lived along the course of the Chehalis River River and the south side of Grays Harbor.  
Aboriginal Locations (Villages)
WA  (13)
Present Locations
BC    Chehalis Indian Band, Agassiz
WA  Chehalis Reservation, Oakville
         Shoalwater Reservation, Tokeland
Year History
1775 First contact, Bruno de Hezeta and Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra, whom they killed as he was trying to retrieve water and firewood; tore long boat apart for its iron fittings
1788 Visited by Mears
1805 Visited by Lewis and Clark
1811 Astoria founded
1824 Smallpox epidemic
1829 Smallpox epidemic
1830 Malaria epidemic
1841 Influx of Oregon Trail settlers began, conflicts followed
1864 Treaty, assigned to reseervation
Year  Population Source
1700 500 NAHDB calculation 
1800 500 NAHDB calculation
1900 300 NAHDB calculation (Not separately enumerated after 1856)
1910 282 Census
1923 89 US Indian Office
1937 131 US Indian Office
1981 721 BIA
1989 775 BIA estimate
2000 900 NAHDB calculation
Other speakers of the same language:
Cowlitz, Humptulips, Kwaiailk
Chehalis Sites:
16 Year-Old Adjusts to Life at Bacone  http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues00/Co12022000/CO_12022000_Bacone.htm
Chehalis Artifacts  http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ethnology/collections/advanced.php?archives=0&NAME=&USED=Chehalis&MADE=&FOUND=&DESCRIPTION=&SUBJECT=&SOURCE=&x=34&y=10
Chehalis Authors  http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/t10
Chehalis Indian Reservation  http://www.brainygeography.com/features/WA.reserve/chehalisindianreservation.html
Chehalis Language  http://www.native-languages.org/chehalis.htm
Confederated Tribes of Chehalis  http://www.chehalistribe.org/
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation  http://www.spipa.org/chehalis.htm
Lucky Eagle Casino  http://www.luckyeagle.com/index_flash.htm
Northwest Coast Culture and Ethnobotany  http://www.fourdir.com/northwest_coastal_culture.htm
Pete, Hazel  http://www.arts.wa.gov/progFA/appren/1994_pete_higheagle.htm
Pete, Hazel, Revived Interest in Art of Basket Weaving  http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues03/Co01112003/CO_01112003_Hazel_Pete.htm
Upper Chehalis Dictionary  http://www.umt.edu/ling/UMOPL/umopl7.htm
Upper  Chehalis Language  http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=cjh
Upper Chehalis Linguistic Lineage  http://www.ethnologue.com/show_lang_family.asp?code=cjh

Last updated 10/02/07  Copyright © 2007 by Four Directions Press