The nine Native tribes of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula—the Hoh, Skokomish, Squaxin Island, Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Quinault, Quileute, and Makah—share complex histories of trade, religion, warfare, and kinship, as well as reverence for the teaching of elders. However, each indigenous nation’s relationship to the Olympic Peninsula is unique. Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: Who We Are traces the nine tribes’ common history and each tribe’s individual story. This second edition is updated to include new developments since the volume’s initial publication—especially the removal of the Elwha River dams—thus reflecting the ever-changing environment for the Native peoples of the Olympic Peninsula. Nine essays, researched and written by members of the subject tribes, cover cultural history, contemporary affairs, heritage programs, and tourism information. Edited by anthropologist Jacilee Wray, who also provides the book’s introduction, this collection relates the Native peoples’ history in their own words and addresses each tribe’s current cultural and political issues, from the establishment of community centers to mass canoe journeys. The volume’s updated content expands its findings to new audiences. More than 70 photographs and other illustrations, many of which are new to this edition, give further insight into the unique legacy of these groups, moving beyond popular romanticized views of American Indians to portray their lived experiences. Providing a foundation for outsiders to learn about the Olympic Peninsula tribes’ unique history with one another and their land, this volume demonstrates a cross-tribal commitment to education, adaptation, and cultural preservation. Furthering these goals, this updated edition offers fresh understanding of Native peoples often seen from an outside perspective only.

Publisher's description: The Native tribes of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula share complex histories of trade, religion, warfare, and kinship. Yet few books have depicted the indigenous people of this region from a Native perspective. Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula introduces readers to nine tribes: the Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S'Klallam, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Skokomish, Squaxin Island, Quinault, Hoh, Quileute, and Makah. Written by members of the Olympic Peninsula Intertribal Cultural Advisory Committee and enhanced by photographs and maps, the book is divided into sections focusing on each of the tribes. Each section relates the tribe's history, its current cultural and political issues, and its tribal heritage programs. Each section also includes information about places to visit and offers suggestions for further reading.

The nine Native tribes of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula—the Hoh, Skokomish, Squaxin Island, Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Quinault, Quileute, and Makah—share complex histories of trade, religion, warfare, and kinship, as well as reverence for the teaching of elders. However, each indigenous nation’s relationship to the Olympic Peninsula is unique. Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: Who We Are traces the nine tribes’ common history and each tribe’s individual story. This second edition is updated to include new developments since the volume’s initial publication—especially the removal of the Elwha River dams—thus reflecting the ever-changing environment for the Native peoples of the Olympic Peninsula. Nine essays, researched and written by members of the subject tribes, cover cultural history, contemporary affairs, heritage programs, and tourism information. Edited by anthropologist Jacilee Wray, who also provides the book’s introduction, this collection relates the Native peoples’ history in their own words and addresses each tribe’s current cultural and political issues, from the establishment of community centers to mass canoe journeys. The volume’s updated content expands its findings to new audiences. More than 70 photographs and other illustrations, many of which are new to this edition, give further insight into the unique legacy of these groups, moving beyond popular romanticized views of American Indians to portray their lived experiences. Providing a foundation for outsiders to learn about the Olympic Peninsula tribes’ unique history with one another and their land, this volume demonstrates a cross-tribal commitment to education, adaptation, and cultural preservation. Furthering these goals, this updated edition offers fresh understanding of Native peoples often seen from an outside perspective only.

For millennia, Native artists on Olympic Peninsula, in what is now northwestern Washington, have created coiled and woven baskets using tree roots, bark, plant stems—and meticulous skill. From the Hands of a Weaver presents the traditional art of basket making among the peninsula’s Native peoples—particularly women—and describes the ancient, historic, and modern practices of the craft. Abundantly illustrated, this book also showcases the basketry collection of Olympic National Park. Baskets designed primarily for carrying and storing food have been central to the daily life of the Klallam, Twana, Quinault, Quileute, Hoh, and Makah cultures of Olympic Peninsula for thousands of years. The authors of the essays collected here, who include Native people as well as academics, explore the commonalities among these cultures and discuss their distinct weaving styles and techniques. Because basketry was interwoven with indigenous knowledge and culture throughout history, alterations in the art over time reflect important social changes. Using primary-source material as well as interviews, volume editor Jacilee Wray shows how Olympic Peninsula craftspeople participated in the development of the commercial basket industry, transforming useful but beautiful objects into creations appreciated as art. Other contributors address poaching of cedar and native grasses, and conservation efforts—contemporary challenges faced by basket makers. Appendices identify weavers and describe weaves attributed to each culture, making this an important reference for both scholars and collectors. Featuring more than 120 photographs and line drawings of historical and twentieth-century weavers and their baskets, this engaging book highlights the culture of distinct Native Northwest peoples while giving voice to individual artists, masters of a living art form.

The Pacific Northwest was one of the most populated and prosperous regions for Native Americans before the coming of the white man. By the mid-1800s, measles and smallpox decimated the Indian population, and the remaining tribes were forced to give up their ancestral lands. Vine Deloria Jr. tells the story of these tribes’ fight for survival, one that continues today.

From the mighty cedar of the rainforest came a wealth of raw materials vital to the early Northwest Coast Indian way of life, its art and culture. For thousands of years these people developed the tools and technologies to fell the giant cedars that grew in profusion. They used the rot-resistant wood for graceful dugout canoes to travel the coastal waters, massive post-and-beam houses in which to live, steam bent boxes for storage, monumental carved poles to declare their lineage and dramatic dance masks to evoke the spirit world. Every part of the cedar had a use. The versatile inner bark they wove into intricately patterned mats and baskets, plied into rope and processed to make the soft, warm, yet water-repellent clothing so well suited to the raincoast. Tough but flexible withes made lashing and heavy-duty rope. The roots they wove into watertight baskets embellished with strong designs. For all these gifts, the Northwest Coast peoples held the cedar and its spirit in high regard, believing deeply in its healing and spiritual powers. Respectfully, they addressed the cedar as Long Life Maker, Life Giver and Healing Woman. Photographs, drawings, anecdotes, oral history, accounts of early explorers, traders and missionaries highlight the text.

In 1889 Washington's then governor, Elisha Ferry, called on men of adventure to cross the Olympic Mountains, a range shrouded in mystery. The Seattle Press, the state's primary newspaper, stepped up to the challenge, sponsoring the Press Expedition. And soon departed a band of men into the mountains during one of the worst winters in recorded history...