Columbian Indians
The Columbian Indians, known as Sinseloxw'i't or "big river people," were comprised of seven bands residing along the Columbia River and included groups such as the Methow, Sinkiuse, Chelan, Sinkakaius, and Wenatchi. At the time of European contact, their population numbered around twelve hundred. These hunter-gatherers followed a structured annual subsistence pattern, influenced by social elements like marriage, trade, and resource availability. Their society was characterized by autonomous villages led by chiefs, and descent was traced bilaterally. Tragically, their population faced significant decline due to several epidemics, the first of which halved their numbers between 1782 and 1783. The arrival of European settlers led to increased tensions, culminating in a series of conflicts from 1855 to 1858. By 1884, under Chief Moses, the surviving members were relocated to the Colville Indian Reservation. Today, there are no full-blooded Columbian Indians; those with ancestral ties primarily reside on the Colville Reservation, which had an estimated population of 7,165 as of the 2017-2021 American Community Survey.
Columbian Indians
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Plateau
Language group: Salishan
Primary location: Northeastern Washington
Population size:441 (1990 U.S. Census); 7,165 Colville Reservation Population (2017-2021 American Community Survey)
The so-called Columbia Indians were composed of seven bands who lived on the Columbia River and collectively called themselves Sinseloxw’i’t (“big river people”). They numbered about twelve hundred at the time of contact with European Americans, and are generally considered to have included the Methow, Sinkiuse, Chelan, Sinkakaius, and Wenatchi. These hunters and gatherers had a definite annual subsistence round, regulated through marriage, trade, and availability of resources. Social control was achieved through threats of sorcery, gossip, consensus of opinion, behavioral and dietary taboos, high division of labor, and a complex mythical charter. The villages of these Plateau Indians were autonomous, with chiefs, and descent was bilateral. The aboriginal population was drastically reduced by seven major epidemics; the first, in 1782-1783, was estimated to have reduced their population by one-half.
The first European Americans to spend time with the Columbia people were Alexander Ross of the Pacific Fur Company in 1810 and David Thompson in 1811. White incursion increased throughout the first half of the nineteenth century until it resulted in a series of wars involving Columbia people from 1855 to 1858. Eventually, the militaristic, nontreaty Columbias were settled on the Colville Indian Reservation in 1884 under the leadership of Chief Moses after the July 1884 “Moses Agreement.” There are no full-blooded Columbias today, and those people with Columbian ancestry live mostly on the Colville Reservation. The 2017-2021 American Community Survey estimated the population of the Colville Reservation at 7,165.