Adeline Smith facts for kids

Adeline Smith (March 15, 1918 – March 19, 2013) was an American elder and important leader. She was a lexicographer (someone who creates dictionaries) and an activist (someone who works for change). Adeline was also a cultural preservationist, meaning she worked hard to keep her people's traditions and language alive. She was a member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, one of four Native American groups in the Pacific Northwest.

Adeline Smith was one of the last two people who spoke the Klallam language as their first language. She worked tirelessly to save and bring back the Klallam language. With Timothy Montler, a professor who studies languages, Adeline created the first Klallam alphabet. They also made the very first Klallam dictionary, which came out in 2012. Adeline was the biggest helper for the dictionary, giving 12,000 words and phrases! Because of her efforts, the Klallam language is now taught in schools, from preschool all the way to high school.

Smith also helped protect Tse-whit-zen, a very old village of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. This village is about 2,700 years old. It was found again during a building project in Port Angeles. She also supported bringing back the natural state of the Elwha River. In 2011, dams on the Elwha River started to be removed. This drained a lake that had been there since before she was born. When the lake drained, it showed a special Klallam creation site that had been underwater.

About Adeline Smith

Her Early Life

Adeline Smith was born on March 15, 1918. She grew up on her family's land along the Elwha River, near Port Angeles, Washington. At home, her family spoke only Klallam. Adeline didn't even have an English name until she started public school at age seven. Her great-grandparents shared their family's history by telling stories, which is called oral history. These stories went back to the late 1700s.

Adeline had to leave Chemawa Indian School, a boarding school in Oregon, just before she was supposed to graduate. This was because her mother passed away, and her family needed her help. When she was 18, she moved to Seattle with her niece, Bea Charles, to find work. This was a time when Native Americans faced a lot of unfair treatment. Bea Charles later became a well-known Klallam language expert.

Adeline worked many different jobs. She was a waitress and worked for Goodwill Industries. During World War II, Adeline worked as a welder. She built things at a submarine factory in San Francisco and at a Boeing airplane factory in Seattle.

Saving the Klallam Language

Adeline Smith was working in Neah Bay, Washington, picking salal plants. After more than 40 years of working away from her home, she decided to move back to the Lower Elwha Klallam reservation. Once she was back, she began teaching about Klallam history and culture.

In the 1990s, Adeline started working to bring back the Klallam language. It was not being used much anymore. She worked with Timothy Montler, a language professor, to create the first Klallam alphabet. They spent many years working together to create the first Klallam-language dictionary. Adeline gave 12,000 words to the dictionary, making her the biggest helper. To find words for the dictionary, Adeline listened to old recordings of the Klallam language. These recordings were made in 1942 by an expert named John Peabody Harrington. It took her months to write down everything from the recordings.

The Klallam Dictionary is a huge book with 983 pages. It was published in December 2012. A special party was held to celebrate the dictionary in November 2012. People from the Lower Elwha, Jamestown S'Klallam, and Port Gamble Klallam communities came. They held up pictures of Adeline to honor her work, as she couldn't be there. Adeline saw her own copy of the dictionary in January 2013. Copies were given to all Klallam tribal offices and schools.

Adeline Smith also trained new teachers in the Klallam language and culture. Because of her hard work, the Klallam language is now taught in both tribal and public schools in the Port Angeles area. Classes are taught from elementary to high school levels.

Adeline Smith was also featured in a documentary film called The Life of a Klallam Girl Growing up on the Elwha River. She continued to write down Klallam oral history and stories until shortly before she passed away in 2013.

Bringing Back the Elwha River

Adeline Smith spoke up in U.S. federal court for her Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Her efforts helped win a court decision in 1974. This decision protected the rights of the Lower Elwha and other tribes to catch half of the salmon run (the number of salmon swimming upstream).

In 1992, Adeline Smith spoke to the United States Congress. She asked them to vote to tear down dams along the Elwha River. She lived to see the dams, including the Elwha Dam, start to be removed in September 2011. She also saw the first salmon return to the river. When one of the dams was removed in 2012, it drained Lake Aldwell. This was a man-made lake created in 1913. In July 2012, the draining of the lake showed a special Klallam creation site that had been underwater since the lake was filled.

Adeline is also in a film called "Unconquering the Last Frontier". In the film, she talks about growing up along the Elwha River. She shares stories about how the fish were harmed there. She also talks about her tribe's efforts to remove two power dams and help the river's natural environment heal.

Protecting Tse-whit-zen

Smith also worked hard to protect Tse-whit-zen. This is a very old Lower Elwha village located near Ediz Hook. It dates back about 2,700 years. It is the largest ancient Native American village ever found in Washington state. When Adeline was a child, adults warned her never to walk or play on the Tse-whit-zen site. It is considered a sacred place by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

Adeline campaigned against building a large construction area on the Port Angeles waterfront. This area was meant to build parts for a bridge. However, during the construction, workers found the large village site of Tse-whit-zen, which included a cemetery. More than 300 bodies were dug up from the site. Then, Washington Governor Gary Locke stepped in and stopped the building project for good in December 2004.

The 300 remains were reburied by the Lower Elwha people. The state government then gave ownership of the Tse-whit-zen area to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

Her Legacy

Adeline Smith passed away from heart failure in Puyallup, Washington, on March 19, 2013. This was just four days after her 95th birthday. She was buried in Neah Bay Cemetery. Her first husband, Roosevelt Suppah, and their son, Mark Suppah, passed away before her. Her second husband, Roy Smith, and their children, Roy Smith Jr. and Patricia Smith Forbe, also passed away before her.

After Adeline Smith's death, Hazel Sampson, who was 103 years old in March 2013, became the last living person to speak the Klallam language as her first language. Adeline Smith was the last Klallam native speaker to teach her language on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. She had planned to make more audio recordings of Klallam stories in the spring of 2013.