The Snoqualmie people () are a Lushootseed-speaking 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: . The name is composed of a root, , and the suffix , meaning "people of." The name was traditionally the name for the Snoqualmie River and all related villages located on it, not the name of a united ethnic group as it is today.
The etymology of the root is contested. According to the Snoqualmie Tribe, the name means "people of the moon," with the root referring to , the Changer, and the highest god in traditional Snoqualmie religion. Another possible etymology is that the name means "worthless people," with the homonymic root word 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 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.
Snoqualmie has also historically been spelled many ways, including Snoqualmu, Snoqualmoo, Snoquelolmi, Snoqualmick, Snoqualamuke, Snoqualmi, and Snuqualmi.
Today, there are many places which carry the Snoqualmie name, including Snoqualmie, Washington, the Snoqualmie River, Snoqualmie Falls, Snoqualmie Pass, and the Snoqualmie Valley.
History
Early history Around the beginning of the colonial period in the early 19th century, the Snoqualmie experienced a massive increase in slave raids targeting them from northern peoples. The Snoqualmie began to rapidly expand their own military capabilities. Patkanim, a prominent Snoqualmie leader during the 19th century, began to create several systems to defend the Snoqualmie and centralize his own power. He later led the Snoqualmie on several raids against the U.S. government and for a time was one of the main resistors of U.S. influence in the region.
Treaty of Point Elliott In 1855, the Snoqualmie were party to the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty at Muckilteo (). 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. Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens' policy was to amalgamate as many independent groups into as few tribes as possible to make the signing of treaties easier. Prior treaties made with other groups in the area had negotiated with each independent village and were signed by all adult men, rather than just a few assigned chiefs.
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 Snoqualmie. Patkanim was given representation of all villages downstream of , including the independent Skykomish and Snohomish peoples. Sonowa was given representation of all Snoqualmie villages upstream of . 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.
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 solely 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 number 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.
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.
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. Around this time, the Snoqualmie population was around 4,000.
In the 1940s, the Superintendent of the Tulalip Agency again recommended the purchase of a separate reservation for the Snoqualmie.
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.
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. Although it is difficult to determine the exact locations and boundaries, the Snoqualmie also traveled widely throughout the Cascade mountains adjacent to their territory.
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.
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. 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 () with the largest being located at the mouth of Tokul Creek (), Cherry Creek, Fall City, and Carnation ().
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. +List of known Snoqualmie villagesNameAnglicization(s)LocationNotesStaptsAt the mouth of Cherry Creek1 longhouseAcross the Snoqualmie River from Carnation () Largest village on the Snoqualmie River; central village of the Stossel CreekSkashiaGriffin Creek, on a prairie5 longhousesToquikiPatterson Creek8 longhousesYetskFall City, on the Raging River18 longhouses; second-largest village on the Snoqualmie RiverYahakabulchUnknown9 longhousesSchwalpUnknown4 longhousesTokul, ToquillTokul Creek7 longhousesSkwutBelow Snoqualmie Falls ()3 longhousesBokwabSnoqualmie Prairie8 longhousesTswodumBetween the South and Middle Forks of the Snoqualmie River5 longhousesSotsoks1 mile below North Bend, on the South Fork Snoqualmie River 5 longhouses; common gathering place for winter ceremonies and potlatches
Culture
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.
Housing The Snoqualmie traditionally constructed several types of housing. The largest, most important, and most famous building in Snoqualmie culture is the longhouse. A large longhouse could be 120 feet long and support up to 20 families. Each longhouse had a leader and a council made up of the various heads of each family.
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. The Snoqualmie also sometimes built sweat lodges.
Religion Snoqualmie traditional religion, was, like other Coast Salish societies, based on the belief in powerful spirits and powers which were bound to the land. The village at was one of the last locations where the once-prolific Soul Recovery Ceremony was practiced in Puget Sound. The ceremony summoned help from the , a type of small forest spirit who were said to live in a community nearby to the village. The village at what is now Fall City also had resident spirits which made warriors there much stronger.
Language
The traditional language of the Snoqualmie is Lushootseed, calləd in the Snoqualmie dialect. Lushootseed is a Coast Salish language which was historically spoken from what is now Bellingham to the head of Puget Sound at Olympia. 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.
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.
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.
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.