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49-549: The name "Wishkah" is an adaptation of the Chehalis word hwish-kahl , meaning "stinking water". While living under a bridge on the river after dropping out of high school and being kicked out of the family home, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain wrote the song " Something in the Way " about the experience. According to biographer Charles R. Cross , however, this was largely a myth created by Cobain. One third of Cobain's ashes were scattered in

98-584: A combination of plans along the Chehalis River to mitigate flooding and to restore aquatic habitat, particularly for local Chinook salmon . The initial proposal outlined several flood control reduction measures, with downstream levee improvements particularly at the Chehalis–Centralia Airport , and a flood retention dam in Pe Ell which is planned to limit catastrophic damage from 100-year floods within

147-507: A large torrent of meltwater. This carved a large oversized valley that is much larger than the current river could have produced. The river's mouth was out near current Westport until rising sea levels at the end of the ice age flooded the broad Chehalis Valley to form a ria , known today as Grays Harbor. The glacial sheet tongue is known as the Puget Lobe which, when it began to melt, formed Glacial Lake Russell . The lake drained through

196-591: A population roughly between 25 and 300 people (although larger settlements were reported). Each house had several households, led by a head of household, typically a married man or a group of brothers or cousins. Other members of the household included the wife, unmarried children, married sons and their wives, poor relatives, slaves, and visitors. Houses were owned by those who contributed labor or resources to building, with each leading man owning his and his family's section. The head of house would also direct family operations, such as weir construction, in which one section of

245-401: A rescue, nor would it be likely for slaves to have familial ties to people in the localiy. The largest political unit in this era was the village. The "tribes" as described in early literature were groups of people who had shared linguistic and geographic ties, but there was no formal organization at this level. Villages held several houses, typically consisting of one to ten houses, supporting

294-526: A river in the state of Washington is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lower Chehalis people The Lower Chehalis ( / ʃ ə ˈ h eɪ l ɪ s / shə- HAY -liss ) are a Southwestern Coast Salish people Indigenous to Washington state . Today, the Lower Chehalis do not maintain a distinct sovereign identity, although people of Lower Chehalis descent are enrolled in several federally recognized tribes, such as

343-529: A very early age, typically seven or eight, and a quest was taken around adolescence. People could also acquire spirits later in life as well. People with powerful powers, usually called shamans, were tasked with diagnosing and curing illnesses, usually those of the spirit, although diseases of "natural" causes were also identified. These shamans were highly respected and were paid well for their services, but they were also feared, as they could use their power for death as well. The Lower Chehalis traditionally spoke

392-405: A weir was owned by the family. Upon their death, the "ownership" of a house would pass on to the eldest son or other kin. Households might tear down their house and rebuild nearby together, or constituent households might build separate private homes elsewhere. Today, Lower Chehalis descendants are enrolled in several federally-recognized tribes : The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe is composed of

441-458: Is the largest drainage basin completely within the state. The basin covers approximately 2,700 square miles (7,000 km ) in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, and Thurston counties. The waterway is an economic necessity, and a source for food, water, and recreation for several large cities, such as Aberdeen, Centralia, Chehalis, and Hoquiam. The river continues to be a cultural and economic staple for

490-466: The Great Coastal Gale of 2007 , a 20-mile (32 km) stretch of Interstate 5 was closed between exits 68 and 88 because of flooding from the Chehalis River, causing the roadway to be under about 10 feet (3.0 m) of water. The recommended detour added about four hours and 280 miles (450 km). It was not expected to reopen for several days. However, upon breaching a dike on Dec. 5, 2007,

539-724: The Hoquiam River joins. At this point the river has become Grays Harbor. Before the estuary of Grays Harbor empties into the Pacific Ocean, the Humptulips River joins. Flood control and concerns for the Chehalis River and its watershed is managed by the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, which is overseen and funded by the Washington Department of Ecology Office of Chehalis Basin (OCB). In 2010,

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588-595: The Indian Claims Commission decided on their claims. The traditional culture of the Lower Chehalis was widely influenced by their maritime environment, and was closely related to their neighbors, with local variation. Fish was the staple of a traditional diet, and several types of salmon are available in the Lower Chehalis region, including chinook , chum , and coho , which run on the Chehalis and its tributaries. Lower Chehalis also historically travelled south to

637-474: The Kwalhioqua living on the bay as well, whose territory was then filled by Sahaptin -speaking groups. Around the early 19th century, the leader of the main Chehalis village at Westport was a "very old man" named Kakowan. He was succeeded by his son, Tuleuk, in the mid-19th century. After the 1846 Oregon Treaty and the 1850 Donation Land Claim Act , American settlers began to displace Indigenous peoples in

686-610: The Satsop River and Wynoochee River , which drain the southern part of the Olympic Mountains . The Wynoochee River joins the Chehalis near Montesano , after which the Chehalis River becomes increasingly affected by tides and widens into Grays Harbor estuary. The city of Aberdeen lies at the mouth of the Chehalis River. Just east of Aberdeen, the Wishkah River joins the Chehalis, and just west, between Aberdeen and Hoquiam ,

735-717: The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe , Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation , and the Quinault Indian Nation . The Lower Chehalis are a Southwestern Coast Salish people, a group of four related peoples who speak closely related languages. The other three Southwestern Coast Salish include the Quinault people , Upper Chehalis people , and the Cowlitz people . The Lower Chehalis are more closely related to

784-427: The potlatch . Leadership usually passed down through the eldest son or other male relatives. If there were multiple candidates, they were selected by other members of the village, although leaders tended to come from certain families. The primary role of the village leader was to advise matters in the village and resolve disputes, but had no power of punishment. The Lower Chehalis likely had a position of "speaker" as did

833-462: The 1980s. The Quinault Indian Nation is a tribe composed primarily of Quinault, Quileute , Chinook, and Hoh peoples, with Lower Chehalis descendants being a minority population. The tribe had an enrolled population of 2,036 in the 1980s. Chehalis River (Washington) The Chehalis River ( / ʃ ə ˈ h eɪ l ɪ s / shə- HAY -liss ) is a river in Washington in

882-539: The 2023 National Hydrologic Warning Council (NHWC) Operational Excellence Award Counties within the Chehalis River basin, various other regional governments, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), in association with Native American tribes, environmental groups, scientists, and local citizens, organized a partnership in 2014 named the Chehalis Basin Strategy to propose and research

931-478: The Chehalis River Basin. The river is home to several salmon species, including chum , coho and Fall Chinook , and the basin is also a habitat for Steelhead trout . In 2018, the Chehalis was the only river basin in the state in which any classification of salmon was not listed as an endangered species, despite decreasing numbers of the fish. A petition was filed by conservation groups in 2023 to list

980-537: The Chehalis River Valley and the slow deposits of glacial sediment raised the depressed valley. The Quinault Indian Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation are stakeholders of the river. Though the people ceded the lands surrounding the Chehalis River upon the signing of the 1856 Treaty of Olympia, the tribes have retained fishing and hatchery rights. Plans were raised during

1029-663: The Chehalis River, causing the roadway to be under several feet of water. Since the main east–west mountain passes were also closed during this event, the flooding from the Chehalis River essentially cut off interstate traffic to the Puget Sound area from the south, and no detour was available. The Chehalis River, along with the Dungeness River , is part of only two river basins in Washington state that are granted protections and rights under "in-stream flow regulation". Passed in 1976,

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1078-519: The Columbia River to partake in the large summer chinook runs. Plants were also used by the Lower Chehalis, including nuts, berries, roots, and camas , but were less important to their diet than their inland neighbors. The Lower Chehalis often traded harvested camas to the inland tribes for whom it was a major resource. Other resources the Lower Chehalis traded to their inland neighbors include clams, sturgeon, and seal oil. Historically, water travel

1127-649: The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and the Quinault Indian Nation. It begins at the confluence of the West Fork Chehalis River and East Fork Chehalis River, in southwestern Lewis County . From there the Chehalis flows north and east, collecting tributary streams that drain the Willapa Hills and other low mountains of southwestern Washington. The South Fork Chehalis River joins

1176-641: The Lower Chehalis and several other groups, including the Chinook, Quinault, Queets, Satsop, Upper Chehalis, and Cowlitz, to treat with the United States and cede their lands. Stevens' policy was to concentrate as many Indians on as few reservations as possible, and a sole reservation was proposed between the Makah and Grays Harbor. Stevens ignored pleadings that two reservations be established. The Lower Chehalis (along with other groups) refused to leave their homes and live with

1225-551: The Lower Chehalis language, a Tsamosan language. The Tsamosan languages are a division of the Salishan language family. Lower Chehalis is closely related to the Quinault language . During the 19th century, Lower Chehalis society was divided into two classes : slave and free. The free class may have had distinctions between nobles and commoners like other Coast Salish groups, but it is unknown. Villages were led by wealthy men who were able to distribute their wealth to others by means of

1274-530: The Lower Chehalis made up a significant portion of the peoples on the Quinault Reservation . Besides the 61 Hoh , 85 Queets, and 107 Quinaults , the Lower Chehalis population included 36 Ayhut, 5 Chehalis, 16 Humptulips, 16 Hoquiam, 16 Wynoochee, and 69 Shoalwater Bay Chehalis, for a total of 158 Lower Chehalis. There were also 12 Satsop at the time, as well as 3 people of mixed race. The Lower Chehalis were not compsensated for their lands until 1960, when

1323-482: The Lower Chehalis. A contemporary leader of the Chehalis, Kaukauan, recalled that they were given weapons and tools by Gray. The earliest recorded mention of the Lower Chehalis is later that year, when fur trader John Boit mentioned that he saw people at the Columbia River who he had previously seen at Grays Harbor. Around the beginning of the 19th century, there were an estimated 1,500-2,000 Lower Chehalis. After

1372-607: The Quinault than they are to the Upper Chehalis. Historically, the Lower Chehalis were not united. Instead, several villages which spoke a common language and resided in a common geographical area were grouped together. Early American treatymakers saw these groupings as "tribes" or "bands", but anthropologist Barbara Lane stated that "tribes" as seen in early literature were "fictive political units that had no basis in native society". The highest level of official political organization

1421-402: The Quinault, a person chosen to announce the chief's intentions to other members of the village. Slaves were prisoners of war or bought from other groups. Freed slaves usually carried a social stigma from their enslavement. Slaves could marry free individuals; however, it was discouraged. Slaves were most ideally taken from distant groups, so that their people would be less likely to attempt

1470-530: The Quinault, and Stevens cancelled the treaty process. Although the Quinault were later given their own treaty, the Lower Chehalis were never given another chance for a treaty. Despite this, the government would succeed in obtaining the title to Chehalis land without compensation. In 1857, Indian agent J.W. Nesmith recommended a treaty be concluded with the Upper and Lower Chehalises and the Cowlitz, so that their claims to

1519-551: The United States. It originates in several forks in southwestern Washington, flows east, then north, then west, in a large curve, before emptying into Grays Harbor , an estuary of the Pacific Ocean. The river is the largest solely contained drainage basin in the state. The river was once much larger during the Ice Age when the tongue of the glacial ice sheet covering the Puget Sound terminated near Olympia and glacial runoff formed

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1568-471: The United States. Those that moved to the reservation were subjected to the "civilizing" process: forced to adopt Christianity , stop speaking their language, and adopt the White way of living. Goods were distributed to reservation agents by the federal government; however, they were often sold by the agents or misused. Some who did not move to reservations joined non-Indian communities and assimilated. In 1887,

1617-552: The creation of Fort Vancouver, the Lower Chehalis became involved in a trade network spanning between the Southwestern Coast Salish and Southern Coast Salish on Puget Sound . The Lower Chehalis were so important in the trade networks of the time that Hudson's Bay Company ships anchored in the bay often had rooms in them reserved for important Lower Chehalis visitors. In 1824, the Lower Chehalis feared an attack from fur traders. In an effort to assuade tensions and regain

1666-492: The descendants of the Shoalwater Bay Indians, those who came from the merger of the Lower Chehalis, Lower Chinook, and Kwalhioqua peoples after the 1830s smallpox epidemic. In 1985, the tribe had 123 tribal citizens. The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation is a tribe composed primarily of people of Chehalis descent (Upper and Lower), as well as others such as Quinault. The tribe had 425 enrolled members in

1715-483: The flood authority implemented the installation of an online flood warning system available to residents in the Chehalis basin. Known as the Chehalis Basin Flood Warning System, it expanded a sensor network already in place, providing information on rainfall and temperature, as well as additional gauges. Alert warnings are sent via email and provide information on 13 rivers in the area. The system won

1764-483: The intertribal potlatch and the local potlatch, to which only local people were invited. The Lower Chehalis might have also participated in the secret societies of the Makah and Quileute through intermarriage. The traditional religious life revolved around one's personal relationship to guardian spirits , also called powers or spirit powers. Spirits were owned by men, women, and slaves. Training to acquire powers started at

1813-590: The land could be extinguished. In 1858, agents reported that the Lower Chehalis were facilitating a liquor trade across the coast of Washington state. An unofficial reservation where the Cowlitz and Upper Chehalis had begun living was made official on July 8, 1864, by executive order , and the Lower Chehalis were directed to remove to it; however, most did not, preferring to stay in their homes. The Humptulips and Shoalwater Bay Indians outright refused to take any goods distributed to them by White authorities in fear that by taking them, they would be ceding their land to

1862-406: The law allows the river the right to maintain its own water levels. Unfettered access to the river is granted to grandfathered "senior" rights holders as they existed before the 1976 rule went into effect; the senior holders mostly consist of tribal communities and farmers. As of 2023 , there are 93 recorded junior water rights holders, mostly homeowners, in the Chehalis basin. The Chehalis River

1911-508: The lower Chehalis River from its mouth to the Wynoochee River. The Chehalis proper occupied the southern shore of Grays Harbor, at the mouth of the Chehalis River. Their main village was at what is now Westport . In total, contemporary reports indicated that there were five villages on the river itself, as well as seven on the north side of the bay, and eight on the south side of the bay. In 1972, Robert Gray visited Grays Harbor and

1960-634: The main river a few miles west of the city of Chehalis . The Newaukum River joins the Chehalis River at Chehalis, after which the river turns north, flowing by the city of Centralia , where the Skookumchuck River joins. After Centralia, the Chehalis River flows north and west, collecting tributaries such as the Black River , which drains the Black Hills to the north, then in the Chehalis Gap collects

2009-452: The name for the principal village of the Chehalis proper, located at what is now Westport . The name c̓x̣íl̕əš literally means "sand". "Chehalis" has also been spelled Tsihalis, Tsihailish, and Chikailish. Chehalis is also what the Sts'ailes of British Columbia were formerly called. During the first half of the 19th century CE, the Lower Chehalis occupied the area around Willapa Bay and

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2058-578: The presidency of Franklin Pierce to use the river as part of a canal stretching from Olympia to Grays Harbor. The idea was reintroduced multiple times during the 19th century but no official acts, nor construction of the waterway, materialized. Versions of the canal project persisted after the build of the Panama Canal and during the Great Depression , with scaled-down plans lasting into the 1970s. During

2107-411: The region. By this time, the Lower Chehalis population had dropped to around 400. Around 1854, ethnographer George Gibbs estimated that there were around 100 Lower Chehalises on Grays Harbor and the lower Chehalis River. In 1855, he reported that the population was 217. In order to extinguish Indian title , territorial governor Isaac Stevens began a treaty process in the spring of 1855. Stevens called

2156-543: The river after his death. From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah is a live album released by Nirvana on October 1, 1996, two and a half years after Cobain's death. 46°59′14.5″N 123°48′40″W  /  46.987361°N 123.81111°W  / 46.987361; -123.81111 This Grays Harbor County, Washington state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

2205-492: The river in a row, and held between two and four families on average. On the inside, the floor was excavated about a foot deep, or perhaps deeper, and walls were lined with mats. Along the walls ran a 4' long by 4' high sleeping platform and a shorter bench below it for sitting. Empty space below the platforms was reserved for storage. The Lower Chehalis likely historically participated in the potlatch system as did their neighbors. Traditionally, two types of potlatches were held:

2254-573: The trust of the Chehalises, the HBC trader John Work distributed tobacco to members of the tribe. In the 1830s, a malaria epidemic devastated the lower Columbia Valley, shifting the organization and composition of local peoples. The Lower Chehalis and Lower Chinook inhabiting Willapa Bay merged, becoming a bilingual population (today the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe ), with Lower Chehalis eventually replacing Chinook . This group in turn would evenutally absorb

2303-483: The water receded more quickly than anticipated. Amtrak train service between Portland, Oregon , and Vancouver, British Columbia , was also disrupted. Washington governor Christine Gregoire declared a state of emergency on December 3. During the January 7, 2009, Pacific Northwest storms, a 20-mile (32 km) stretch of Interstate 5 was closed in and around the cities of Centralia and Chehalis because of flooding from

2352-410: Was the main method of travel for the Lower Chehalis due to the high levels of vegitation in their territory, thus the Lower Chehalis were highly skilled canoers and swimmers. Canoes typically resembled the normal West Coast canoe style, except for the shovelnose canoe . Traditionally, the Lower Chehalis built gable-roofed houses made of cedar planks. Houses were typically oriented east–west along

2401-522: Was the village level. The historical groupings that spoke Lower Chehalis include: Today, the name "Lower Chehalis" refers to all these groups combined. 19th century ethnologist George Gibbs classified the Satsop as a Lower Chehalis group, but modern ethnograhpers classify them as belonging to the Upper Chehalis dialect group. The name "Chehalis" comes from the Lower Chehalis name c̓x̣íl̕əš ,

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