History of the Duwamish tribe facts for kids
The area we now call Seattle has been home to people for a very long time. Scientists have found proof that humans lived here at least 4,000 years ago, and probably even longer! Places like West Point in Discovery Park were once ancient villages with names like Oka-dz-elt-cu. Another village, tohl-AHL-too, meaning "herring house," has been lived in since at least the 500s CE.
The original people of this land were the Duwamish Tribe. They spoke a language called Lushootseed. They called themselves Dkhw'Duw'Absh ("People of the Inside") and Xacuabš ("People of the Large Lake"). In the mid-1850s, they had at least 17 villages. They lived in many large longhouses along the Duwamish River, Elliott Bay, Lake Washington, and other nearby waters.
Many people lived together in each longhouse. These were like big family cooperatives, very different from the single-family homes of later settlers. Sadly, before many European settlers arrived, the Coast Salish people lost about 62% of their population. This was due to new diseases brought by outsiders.
The Duwamish people, like many other groups in the Pacific Northwest, relied a lot on fishing. The waters here were once full of fish! Old fishing tools have been found near places like sbuh-KWAH-buks, which is now the West Seattle peninsula. Today, this area is called Me-Kwa-Mooks Park. It's a beautiful place with many trees and birds. Nearby, Schmitz Park has a small forest of huge, old-growth trees. These trees are a reminder of what much of Seattle looked like long ago.
Starting in the 1800s, the fur trade brought European goods to the area. This led to changes for the native tribes. The Hudson's Bay Company built trading posts like Fort Nisqually in 1833. A young man named Si'ahl, who later became famous as Chief Seattle, was well-known around Fort Nisqually. Catholic missionaries arrived in 1839, and more settlers came from 1845 onwards. The United States took control of the region in 1846. White settlements were set up at Alki in 1851 and what is now Pioneer Square in Downtown Seattle in 1852. These new settlements were right next to existing Native villages.
Life Changes: 1855–1920s
By the mid-1850s, the lives of the Coast Salish people were changing very quickly. In just five years, their lands were being taken over. The Treaty of Point Elliott was signed in 1855. There are many questions about whether this treaty was fair. It's unclear if the Native leaders truly understood what they were signing. It's also debated if the written treaty matched what they were told.
A leader named Lescay, from the Nisqually tribe, urged his people to resist. Chief Seattle, however, warned his friend 'Doc' Maynard, a white settler. This warning may have saved about 30 white people during a raid in 1856. Native Americans fought for different reasons than Europeans. They did not fight for conquest or to destroy others. The "Battle of Seattle" in 1856 was more of a small fight than a big battle.
White settlers claimed the Point Elliott Treaty meant the Duwamish people had to move to reservations set up for other tribes. Many of these tribes had been rivals for a long time. The Duwamish tribe believes the treaty promised them their own reservation. This was blocked in 1866. Some Duwamish people followed Chief Seattle to the Suquamish reservation. Others went to the Tulalip or Muckleshoot reservations. Many refused to move or traveled between reservations.
Sadly, new diseases continued to harm the Native population. A smallpox epidemic in 1862 killed about half of the affected Native people. Government policies often made these epidemics worse for Native communities. Between 1774 and 1874, the Native population in the region dropped by about 66%.
The city of "Seattle" was named around 1853. It comes from the name of Chief Seattle, si'áb Si'ahl. 'Doc' Maynard is said to have named the city after him. For many indigenous peoples, true names are very special and sacred. Because of this, Chief Seattle and his people were not happy at first about the city being named after him. Over time, Chief Seattle was honored by both Native and White cultures. The city of Seattle also took on a special duty to the Duwamish people.
In 1865, the first leaders of Seattle passed a rule to remove Native Americans from the city. They also said people who helped Native Americans would be punished. The promise of a Duwamish reservation was blocked in 1866. The United States government has still not fully kept its promises from the Treaty of Point Elliott.
The Seattle waterfront around 1890–1892, showing Native canoes.
After the treaty, some Duwamish people moved to the West Seattle peninsula. There, they tried to continue their traditional ways of life. However, their last village in West Seattle was destroyed by fire in 1893. A white man named "Watson" burned down eight homes. By 1910, almost all other longhouses were destroyed by fires set by non-Native people. The number of non-Native people in the area grew very quickly after 1880.
In the 1900s, Native families would come by canoe to the Seattle waterfront. They camped on Ballast Island, a small strip of land created by ships dumping heavy stones. From there, they would go to work in the hops fields upriver. They started using canvas tents instead of their traditional cattail mat shelters for travel. Life was very hard. Native men continued to work in lumber mills and fishing. Women sold shellfish and made baskets, finding new ways to survive.
Many older residents of West Seattle tell stories about finding ancient middens (piles of shells and artifacts) in the 1920s and 1930s. These sites were not protected until 1906, and then only on public land. Today, two viewpoints looking across Elliott Bay toward the city have Northwest Indian totem poles.
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