Yelkanum Seclamatan ( ; Nooksack: ''Y'elʔqáy'nem Selh'émeten'' ; died April 1911), also known as Chief Jim, Indian Jim, Lynden Jim, or Squahalish Jim, was chief of the

Nooksack Indians The Nooksack (; Nooksack: ''Noxwsʼáʔaq'') are a federally recognized Native American tribe near the Pacific Northwest Coast. They are a sovereign nation, located in the mainland northwest corner of Washington state in the United States alon ...

in the late 19th century. His first name has variously been spelled ''Yellakanim'', ''Yallakanum'', or ''Yellow Kanim'', and his last name ''Seklameten'' or ''Seclamatum''.

Life

ClaraTennant.png, Clara Tennant, one of Yelkanum's wives In the late 1870s, Yelkanum contributed portions of his land to be used in the construction of a Nooksack Indian Methodist School by Clara and Rev. John Tennant (after whom Tennant Lake is named). In 1893 Tennant died of a stroke, and ten years later Yelkanum married his

Lummi The Lummi ( ; Lummi: ''Xwlemi'' ; also known as Lhaq'temish (), or ''People of the Sea''), governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group. They are based in the coastal area of the Pacific N ...

wife Clara Tennant. However, three months after their marriage Clara died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

.
Yelkanum's death was announced in ''

The Bellingham Herald ''The Bellingham Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Bellingham, Washington, in the United States. It was founded on March 10, 1890, as ''The Fairhaven Herald'' and changed its name after Bellingham was incorporated as a city in 1903. ''Th ...

'' on April 27, 1911. At the time he lived with his granddaughter Emily Williams.

References

1911 deaths Year of birth missing 19th-century Native Americans 20th-century Native Americans Native American leaders Nooksack People from Lynden, Washington {{US-hist-stub