Native-american-clackamas-indians-science-source-Artist Paul Kane

The Clackamas Indians are a tribe of Native Americans of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

who traditionally lived along the

Clackamas River The Clackamas River is an approximately tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon, in the United States. Draining an area of about , the Clackamas flows through mostly forested and rugged mountainous terrain in its upper reaches, a ...

in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

. Lewis and Clark estimated their population at 1800 in 1806. At the time the tribe lived in 12 villages that occupied from the lower

Columbia River The Columbia River ( Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, ...

to an area what is now called Oregon City. They resided towards the east side of the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

given this length of land. In February 1841, Reverend

François Norbert Blanchet François Norbert Blanchet (September 30, 1795 – June 18, 1883) was a French Canadian-born missionary priest and prelate of the Catholic Church who was instrumental in establishing the Catholic Church presence in the Pacific Northwest. He was on ...

and Reverend Alvin F. Waller converted Clackamas Chief Popoh. In fall of 1851, a treaty was never ratified by Oregon superintendent, Anson Dart. Another treaty was signed on January 10, 1855 and was ratified March 3, 1855. The Clackamas were to be granted twenty-five hundred dollars of resources, which only a fifth was paid.

Lifestyle

The tribe subsisted on fish and roots. The Indians would construct large platforms made from cedar in order to dip their nets in over

Willamette Falls The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Northwestern United States by volume, and the seventeenth widest in the wor ...

. This form of fishing was used to harvest salmon. Once the salmon were caught and brought to shore, the women of the tribe would prepare the salmon by drying or smoking the salmon. This was then combined with a mixture of berries and nuts or salmon would be preserved in woven baskets to be preserved for the winter months. The Clackamas Indians would use salmon as a form of trade amongst other tribes. Other forms of trade included ''wapato'', a root that also known as

Sagittaria ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''

Chinookan peoples Chinookan peoples include several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages. Since at least 4000 BCE Chinookan peoples have resided along the Lower and Middle Columbia River (W ...

, they practiced

head flattening Artificial cranial deformation or modification, head flattening, or head binding is a form of body alteration in which the skull of a human being is deformed intentionally. It is done by distorting the normal growth of a child's skull by applying ...

. From infancy the head was compressed between boards, thus sloping the forehead backward. This was a way to indicate that a person was free rather than a slave. The Clackamas were expert woodworkers as they crafted canoes and plank lodges. Canoes were used to travel down rivers. A typical canoe was built to be between 20-30 feet. This feature allowed the tribe to carry more produce or people down the river. Having knowledge of the Clackamas river systems, the Clackamas people were hired by pioneers as guides to navigate the river systems. Indians-Fish-Willamette-Falls-FSDM2-Oregon-Historical-Society

Indians-Fish-Willamette-Falls-FSDM2-Oregon-Historical-Society

Tomanowos

The

Willamette Meteorite The Willamette Meteorite, officially named WillametteMeteoritical Bulleti ...

is revered by the Clackamas Indians. The meteorite is called Tomanowos, which translates to "the visitor of heaven". The meteorite was believed to be given from the Sky People and is the unity between sky, earth, and water. Other tribes around the area thought that the meteorite possessed magical powers.

Descendants

By 1855, the 88 surviving members of the tribe were relocated to Grand Ronde, Oregon, first to the

Grand Ronde Indian Reservation The Grand Ronde Community is an Indian reservation located on several non-contiguous sections of land in southwestern Yamhill County and northwestern Polk County, Oregon, United States, about east of Lincoln City, near the community of Grand ...

; later they blended in the general population. Soosap was the "last" full blooded Indian as his mom was full blooded Clackamas and his father Klickitat. He lived off the Grand Ronde reservation; living his days in Oregon City performing odd jobs. His given name was Joseph Andrews as people couldn't pronounce his native name. He was also a known baseball player in the Pacific Northwest. Descendants of the Clackamas belong to the

Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (CTGR) consists of twenty-seven Native American tribes with long historical ties to present-day western Oregon between the western boundary of the Oregon Coast and the eastern bound ...

References

External links

On the Clackamas people
{{authority control Chinookan tribes Native American tribes in Oregon Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau Clackamas County, Oregon Willamette Valley

Lifestyle

Tomanowos

Descendants

See also

References

External links