Sammamish People
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The Sammamish people () are a Lushootseed-speaking Southern Coast Salish people. They are
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
to the Sammamish River Valley in central
King County, Washington King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...
. The Sammamish speak
Lushootseed Lushootseed ( ), historically known as Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish, or Skagit-Nisqually, is a Central Coast Salish language of the Salishan language family. Lushootseed is the general name for the dialect continuum composed of two main di ...
, a Coast Salish language which was historically spoken across most of
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
, although its usage today is mostly reserved for cultural and ceremonial practices. Historically, the Sammamish were a distinct tribe. The 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott assigned the Sammamish people to Tulalip Reservation, and today many of their descendants are citizens of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington. Other Sammamish people moved to other reservations in the region, and today their descendants are citizens of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, and Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation. The historical extent of Sammamish territory ranges from the northern head of
Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...
to Issaquah Creek at the south of
Lake Sammamish Lake Sammamish is a freshwater lake east of Seattle in King County, Washington, United States. The lake is long and wide, with a maximum depth of and a surface area of . It lies east of Lake Washington and west of the Sammamish Plateau, a ...
, where they have hunted, fished, and gathered for over 10,000 years. The Sammamish had several villages along the length of the river, with the largest being at , what is now Kenmore. The Sammamish were historically a warlike, but impoverished people, and were closely allied with their neighbors, the
Duwamish Duwamish may refer to: People * Duwamish people, a Lushootseed-speaking Indigenous people in Washington state * Duwamish Tribe, an unrecognized tribe of Duwamish descendants Places * Duwamish Head, a promontory jutting into Elliott Bay * Duw ...
and the Snoqualmie. Traditional Sammamish society revolved around their two lakes, Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish, more than the Sammamish River which connects the two. In the early 19th century, the Sammamish were one of the first peoples of Puget Sound to come into contact with the traders from the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
. During this period, the Sammamish participated in several wars, such as the 1855 Puget Sound War and the 1856 Battle of Seattle, as well as raiding other tribes. In 1855, the Sammamish attended, but did not sign, the Treaty of Point Elliott. Despite this, they were removed from their land and sent to the Tulalip Reservation, where many Sammamish descendants live today. Other Sammamish continued to live in their traditional homeland along the Sammamish River but later moved to neighboring reservations.


Name

The name "Sammamish" is an anglicization of their Lushootseed endonym, , also spelled . The etymology of the name is disputed among historians and linguists, and there are several possible etymologies. The name is derived from a root word and the suffix , meaning "people." According to linguist and anthropologist T.T. Waterman, the name means "meander dwellers." According to historian and writer David Buerge, the name might derive from the word , meaning "
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...
," which would mean their name translates to "willow people." According to the Sammamish Heritage Society, the name means "hunter people." The first American settlers also called the Sammamish various names such as "Squak", "Simump", and "Squowh." These names are anglicizations of the Lushootseed word ', the name for Issaquah Creek and the location of a Sammamish village.


Classification

The Sammamish are a Southern Coast Salish people. They were historically closely related to and allied with their immediate neighbors, who today constitute the Snoqualmie and the various subgroups of the
Duwamish people The Duwamish (, ) are a Lushootseed-speaking Southern Coast Salish people in western Washington, and the Indigenous people of metropolitan Seattle. Prior to colonization, the center of Duwamish society was around the Black and Duwamish rivers ...
, such as the , the Juanita Creek people. Because of these ties, early American settlers often believed that the Sammamish were a subgroup of the Duwamish, or that the Duwamish were a subgroup of the Sammamish. However, the Sammamish were a completely sovereign and autonomous group from their Duwamish neighbors. Some historians have continued to classify the Sammamish as a Duwamish subgroup. Despite being a primarily riverine people, the Sammamish were historically considered by their contemporaries as , or "lake people," referring to the peoples living on Lake Washington, and, broadly, any lake at all. This is opposed to other ethnic identifiers, such as the (saltwater peoples), (riverine peoples), (inland peoples), and so forth. This is due to the traditional lifestyle of the Sammamish, which relied much more on the resources of Lake Washington, rather than from their own river, than other riverine groups in the area.


History

For more than 10,000 years, the Sammamish people have hunted, fished, and gathered on their lands along Lake Washington and the Sammamish River and Lake. The Sammamish were a relatively poor people, and they were also noted by their neighbors for their tendency towards warfare. War was uncommon in the region, and whilst warriors were respected, warfare was seen as a social negative. For this reason, the Sammamish were looked down upon by many of their contemporaries, who viewed them as uncouth and rowdy. The Sammamish were one of the first peoples to trade with overland traders from the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
. Around 1832, the Sammamish went raiding against the
Lower Skagit The Lower Skagit (sometimes called Whidbey Island Skagits) are a tribe of the Lushootseed Native American people living in the U.S. state of Washington. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Swinomish Indians of the S ...
() of
Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...
. A Sammamish raiding party traveled to Penn Cove to attack the Lower Skagit village at (Snatelum Point). The raid was initially successful, as the Skagit began to flee across Penn Cove to ( Oak Harbor) with the Sammamish raiders in tow. However, it was ultimately unsuccessful, as the Sammamish river canoes, unsuitable for the open waters of the Puget Sound, capsized, allowing the Skagit to escape. The Sammamish returned home overland, building makeshift rafts to cross the water. It was theorized by historian David Buerge that the poor resources of the Sammamish River Valley led to their tendency for raiding. In the 1850s, the population of the Sammamish, including those living along both the Sammamish River and Lake Sammamish, was estimated to be as high as 200 people. In 1855, the United States government signed the Treaty of Point Elliott with appointed leaders of most of the Puget Sound peoples, headed by
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
(Suquamish/Duwamish) and Chief Patkanim (Snoqualmie). Although the Sammamish were listed in the preamble of the treaty, they did not sign the treaty. Despite this, Governor Isaac Stevens moved to enforce the treaty on the Sammamish even before it was ratified by Congress. One prominent leader of the Sammamish, Sahwicholgadhw, did not accept the treaty, and resisted the attempts of the Americans to remove the Sammamish from their homelands. Although David 'Doc' Maynard, the
Indian Agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government. Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793 The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the Un ...
at the time, pressured the Sammamish into relocating, the Sammamish continued to refuse the efforts of the Americans. Under Sahwicholgadhw, some Sammamish warriors took part in the
Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muck ...
against the United States, and participated in the 1856 Battle of Seattle. Led by the
Yakama The Yakama are a Native Americans in the United State, Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in Eastern Washington, eastern Washington (state), Washington state. Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally rec ...
and
Wenatchi The Wenatchi people or Šnp̍əšqʷáw̉šəxʷi / Np̓əšqʷáw̓səxʷ ("People in the between") are Native Americans who originally lived near the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers in Central Washington state. Their language ...
, the Sammamish joined the assault on the young town, in which almost every building was burned. Following the conclusion of the unsuccessful Puget Sound War, many Sammamish were relocated to Fort Kitsap, where the Sammamish remained until their eventual assignment to the Tulalip Reservation.
Henry Yesler Henry Leiter Yesler (December 2, 1810 – December 16, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and a politician, regarded as a founder of the city of Seattle. Yesler served two non-consecutive terms as Mayor of Seattle, and was the city's wealthiest ...
, local sawmill owner and one of the founders of Seattle, aided in the removal of the Sammamish from their homelands. After their removal, the villages were destroyed by settlers. As with the relocation of other Northwest Coast peoples, Indian removal was significantly enabled by the
1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic was a smallpox outbreak that started in Victoria on Vancouver Island and spread among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and into the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, ki ...
which killed almost two-thirds of the Sammamish population, as well as by the devastation from the effects of several previous epidemics. Because of this relocation, many Sammamish were amalgamated into other tribes, such as the
Suquamish The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Su ...
, Snoqualmie, and
Tulalip The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, ), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish people, Duwamish, Snohomish tribe, Snohomish, Snoqualmie people, Snoqualmie, Upper Skagit Indian Tr ...
tribes, where many of the descendants of the Sammamish live today. Some Sammamish continued to refuse to move to the Tulalip Reservation and continued to live in the area as laborers and farmers. The last independent Sammamish continued to practice their traditions until the 1900s and 1910s, when the last visible traces of Sammamish people in the Sammamish River Valley would practically disappear. In 2009, only 69 people in Kenmore – once the largest Sammamish village – were Native American. They were likely not all of Sammamish descent, although the exact number is not known.


Territory and villages

The traditional territory of the Sammamish includes all of Lake Sammamish and the Sammamish River. The Sammamish hunted in the surrounding forests, fished along the lakes, the river and the nearby creeks, and gathered in the marshes and flats nearby. Sammamish villages consisted of large longhouses, constructed of great cedar planks and poles. Houses were around 50 feet by 100 feet and could hold several families at a time, sometimes amounting to hundreds of people. Longhouses were divided so that each family had a "room" and a central fire pit, only partially-separated by partitions. The Sammamish had several villages along the Sammamish River and Lake Sammamish, with the largest being at , the head of Lake Union near what is now Kenmore. This site was at the mouth of the Sammamish River before Lake Washington was drained by 10 feet, which, at the time, was near where Swamp Creek () is today. The furthest upriver village was at the mouth of ' (Issaquah Creek). Its low prestige was widely known by the nearby saltwater peoples. Among the Elliot Bay villages, it was common to reprimand misbehaving children by telling them they were acting as if they were from ''.''


Culture


Society

Traditional Sammamish society was highly stratified, made up of two main classes, as well as a separate slave class. Social standing was determined by social prestige, power, and family ties. Villages were roughly democratic oligarchies, with the eldest or most prestigious members of a family forming a village council, at which matters were decided in a democratic fashion. Slaves were prisoners of war or children of slaves, and slavery was generally for life, although there were some exceptions. Sammamish society and life was based around the yearly cycle of summertime hunting, gathering, and fishing all throughout their territory, before people would stay in their villages during the winter to feast and to engage in ceremonies. Large potlatches would be thrown as a display of wealth and prestige, where relatives from distant villages would be invited to receive lavish gifts, alongside gambling, dancing, and storytelling.


Natural resources

Like other Northwest Coast peoples,
cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...
was, and continues to be, the most critical resource for the Sammamish. Canoes, houses, clothing, paddles, toys, baskets, nets,
weirs A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
, and much more can be fashioned out of cedar. Other types of wood were used for various applications as well. Bows were made of
yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...
or maple, and madrona was used in cooking and other fire-resistant tools. Cattails are also critical to the traditional ways of the Sammamish. They can be used for making blankets, sleeping pads, pillows, hats, skirts, and even giant mats, which were used to make large tents for camping during the summer months. Fish, most importantly salmon, were caught in canoes, with spears and nets, or on giant fishing weirs, constructed over the length of a creek, where massive amounts of fish could be easily caught. Although some salmon was eaten fresh, most salmon would be dried or smoked and could be eaten with dried berries or baked camas. Berries were gathered in many places, from swamps, to prairies, to the foothills of the Issaquah Alps. Other types of game were caught and consumed fresh, as well as used for pelts or feathers, such as waterfowl and deer, however the traditionally lake-oriented lifestyle of the Sammamish relied more on aquatic resources like fish than their riverine neighbors.


Language

Like their Duwamish and Snoqualmie relatives, the Sammamish traditionally speak
Lushootseed Lushootseed ( ), historically known as Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish, or Skagit-Nisqually, is a Central Coast Salish language of the Salishan language family. Lushootseed is the general name for the dialect continuum composed of two main di ...
, a Coast Salish language spoken across Puget Sound. The Sammamish dialect is
Southern Lushootseed Southern Lushootseed, also called Twulshootseed () or Whulshootseed () in the Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie dialects, is the southern dialect of Lushootseed, a Coast Salish language in western Washington State. It was historically spoken by the M ...
, spoken by the Lushootseed-speaking peoples south of the Snohomish. The Sammamish dialect is closely related to the Duwamish and Snoqualmie dialects. Today, Lushootseed has no first-language speakers and is primarily reserved for ceremonial and cultural contexts, like storytelling and prayer. Despite this, the Tulalip and Snoqualmie tribes are working to revitalize the language, and it is taught in several colleges and high schools in the area, both tribal and non-tribal.


See also

*
Coast Salish peoples The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...
* List of Lushootseed-speaking peoples


Notes


References


External links


Muckleshoot Indian Tribe

Snoqualmie Indian Tribe

Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation

Tulalip Tribes of Washington
{{Authority control Coast Salish Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Native American tribes in Washington (state)