Sammamish people facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| About 101 (1854). | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sammamish Valley lake and river, King County, Washington | |
| Languages | |
| Southern Lushootseed | |
| Religion | |
| Mostly Indigenous, some Roman Catholic | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Duwamish, Snoqualmie; ancestral Xacuabš "the People of the Large Lake" (before mid-1850s). Coast Salish |
The Sammamish people are a group of Native American people. They are part of the larger Coast Salish group, who live along the Pacific Northwest coast. The Sammamish lived in the Sammamish River Valley in what is now central King County, Washington.
Their name, Sammamish, has a few possible meanings. Some say it comes from ssts'p-abc, meaning "meander dwellers," or s-tah-PAHBSH, meaning "willow people." Another idea is that it comes from Samena, meaning "hunter people." However, some believe the name comes from samma, the sound of a blue crane, and mish, meaning river. Early European settlers also called them "Squak," which came from sqwa'ux, the name of a village site near Lake Sammamish. The Sammamish were closely connected to the Duwamish and were sometimes seen as part of the Xacuabš ("People of the Large Lake"). Like the Duwamish, the Sammamish spoke a southern form of the Lushootseed language.
Sammamish Villages and Homes
The main Sammamish village was called tlah-WAH-dees. It was located at the mouth of the Sammamish River. This area is now between the towns of Kenmore and Bothell. The river's mouth changed its location after 1916. This happened when Lake Washington was lowered by nine feet.
Another Sammamish village was near what is now Issaquah. This village had at least one longhouse. Longhouses were large, shared homes for many families. When Europeans from the Hudson's Bay Company arrived in 1832, the Sammamish had several villages. Some were permanent, and others were used only during certain seasons. About 200 Sammamish people lived in the area at that time.
Changes and Relocation
In 1855, the United States government signed the Treaty of Point Elliott. This treaty was with leaders of many Puget Sound tribes, including Chief Seattle of the Duwamish. The governor of the territory wanted to move the tribes named in the treaty, including the Sammamish.
Many Sammamish people, like a leader named Sah-wich-ol-gadhw, did not agree with the treaty. Talks with the Indian agent, 'Doc' Maynard, did not work out. In 1856, some Sammamish joined in the Battle of Seattle. This was a fight against the White settlers.
After this battle and a short conflict called the Puget Sound War, the Sammamish moved. They left their river valley homes. Some moved to reservations named in the treaty. Others moved to lands not set aside as reservations. A local businessman, Henry Yesler, helped with these moves. He had used local Native Americans as workers before.
The movement of Native American people was also affected by diseases. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic was very serious. It may have killed about half of the remaining Native American population. Other diseases before this also caused a lot of harm.
Modern Sammamish People
After being moved, the descendants of the Sammamish people spread out. They joined other tribes. These include the Suquamish, Snoqualmie, and the people of the Tulalip Reservation. Today, they are generally considered members of these tribes.
