Chinook
The Chinook are a southern tribe of Northwest Coast Indigenous Americans, primarily located along the Oregon and Washington coast. Historically, they controlled the Columbia River waterway, leveraging their strategic position to become prominent traders in the region. The Chinook engaged in commerce with other Indigenous nations, collecting tolls for river access, and traded various goods, including enslaved peoples, canoes, and dentalium shells. Their culture reflects shared characteristics with other Northwest Coast tribes, such as the construction of plank houses and participation in potlatch ceremonies, but they did not develop the same artistic traditions as some of their northern counterparts. Salmon holds significant cultural and spiritual importance for the Chinook, with the first salmon rite marking the salmon run's arrival. The Chinook language is distinctive and has been tentatively linked to the broader Penutian language family. Although the Chinook gained federal recognition in 2001, it was revoked the following year, leading to ongoing efforts to regain that status. In a recent legal victory in 2024, the Chinook were acknowledged for their claims to settlement funds, which they plan to use for cultural preservation and community services.
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Chinook
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northwest Coast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Chinookan (perhaps Penutian)
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Oregon/Washington coast
- POPULATION SIZE: 3,000 (2022, Chinook Indian Nation)
The Chinook, a southern tribe of Northwest Coast Indigenous Americans, controlled the Columbia River waterway from The Dalles (the location of a major waterfall) to the Pacific Ocean and lived on the coast in the area of the present states of Washington and Oregon. The Chinook charged a toll to other Indigenous nations who used the river for commerce and became principal traders in the area, partly because the falls at The Dalles made portaging necessary. The Chinook's trade included enslaved peoples, canoes, and dentalium shells.
The first documented contact the Chinook had with European Americans was with explorer John Meares at Willapa Bay in 1788. The Chinook later met the overland Astor fur expedition and, in 1805, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. References in Chinook oral tradition imply earlier contact with Russian and perhaps even Spanish ships.
The Chinook shared many characteristics with other Indigenous nations of the Northwest Coast culture area—living in plank houses, building seaworthy canoes, telling Coyote stories, and participating in potlatch distributions of property. The Chinook, however, did not generally enjoy the wealth or possess the artistic skills of coastal nations to the north. While the Chinook produced twine basketry and sewed rush mats, they did not create the totemic art of the northern coastal nations.
Salmon provided sustenance—spiritual and physical—to the Chinook. An important ceremony in the Chinook religion is the first salmon rite, which heralds the annual salmon run. The Chinook supplemented their diet with clams, crabs, oysters, seals, and small game hunting on land.
The Chinook language is unique in several respects and has been only tentatively affiliated with the widespread Penutian stock. “Chinook jargon,” spoken from California to Alaska, bases its lexicon on the Chinook language but has characteristics of French, English, and Indigenous American (especially Nootka) languages. The Chinook earned federal recognition as an Indigenous nation in 2001, but the status was revoked in 2002. However, the Chinook continued to pursue federal recognition. In February 2024, the Chinook won a significant legal battle when the federal government recognized their claims to settlement funds awarded in 1970 by the Indian Claims Commission. These funds had previously been withheld due to the Chinook’s lack of federal recognition. This victory was seen as a step forward towards once again being designated as a federally recognized Indigenous nation. The Chinook announced the funds would be used to provide services to their 3,000 members, including cultural preservation, social services, drug and alcohol treatment, and land acquisition.
Bibliography
Boyd, Robert T. Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia. U of Washington P, 2013.
Boyd, Robert T. People of the Dalles: The Indians of Wascopam Mission. U of Nebraska P, 2005.
"An Endangered Perspective: Chinook Language." Lake Forest College, www.lakeforest.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/environmental-studies/an-endangered-perspective-chinook-language. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
Ferrara, John Ross. "Local Tribe Looks to Regain Federal Recognition Following 'Landmark' Decision." KOIN, 22 Feb. 2024, www.koin.com/news/oregon/local-tribe-looks-to-regain-federal-recognition-following-landmark-decision. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
"History." Chinook Indian Nation, chinooknation.org/chinook‗indians-history. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
Johnson, Tony A. "This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Chinook Indian Nation Deserves Justice." Chinook Indian Nation, 13 Oct. 2022, chinooknation.org/the-chinook-nation-deserves-justice. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
Lang, George. Making Wawa: The Genesis of Chinook Jargon. UBCP, 2008.
O'Brien, Suzanne J Crawford. Coming Full Circle: Spirituality and Wellness among Native Communities in the Pacific Northwest. U of Nebraska P, 2013.
Ruby, Robert H., and John A. Brown. The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River. U of Oklahoma P, 1976.
"Unrecognized Tribes Like the Chinook In SW Washington Struggle Without Federal Help In Pandemic." Northwest Public Broadcasting, 18 April 2021, www.nwpb.org/2021/04/18/unrecognized-tribes-like-the-chinook-in-sw-washington-struggle-without-federal-help-in-pandemic. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.