- Klickitat (tribe)
ethnic group
group=Klickitat
poptime=Ca. 600 in 1780; ca. 400 in 1910.
popplace=United States (Washington )
rels=
langs=English, Klickitat
related=Yakama The Klickitat (also spelled Klikitat) are a Native American tribe of thePacific Northwest . A Shahaptian tribe, their eastern neighbors were theYakama , who speak a closely related language. Their western neighbors were variousSalishan andChinookan tribes. Their name has been perpetuated inKlickitat County, Washington ,Klickitat, Washington , and theKlickitat River , a tributary of the Columbia River.The Klickitat were noted for being active and enterprising traders, and served as intermediaries between the coastal tribes and those living east of the
Cascade Mountains .Name
The ethnonym "Klikitat" is said to derive from a
Chinookan word meaning "beyond," in reference to theRocky Mountains . The Klickitat, however, call themselves "Qwû'lh-hwai-pûm", meaning "prairie people."Other names for them include:
*"Awi-adshi",Molala name.
*"Lûk'-a-tatt", Puyallup name.
*"Máhane", Umpqua name.
*"Mǐ-Çlauq'-tcu-wûn'-ti", Alsea name, meaning "scalpers."
*"Mûn-an'-né-qu' tûnnĕ",Naltunnetunne name, meaning "inland people."
*"Tlakäï'tat",Okanagon name.
*"Tsĕ la'kayāt amím",Kalapuya name.
*"T!uwānxa-ikc",Clatsop name.
*"Wahnookt", Cowlitz name.History
The ancestral lands of the Klickitat were situated north of the
Columbia River , at the headwaters of the Cowlitz, Lewis, White Salmon, and Klickitat rivers, in present-day Klickitat and Skamania Counties. They occupied their later base after theYakama crossed this river. In 1805, the Klickitat were encountered by theLewis and Clark Expedition . Lewis and Clark found them wintering on the Yakima and Klickitat Rivers and estimated their number at about 700.In the early 1850s, the Klickitat Tribe raided present-day
Jackson County, Oregon from the north and settled the area.Modoc , Shasta,Takelma ,Latgawas , and Umpqua Indian tribes had already lived within the present boundaries of that county.Between 1820 and 1830, an epidemic of fever struck the tribes of the
Willamette Valley . The Klickitat took advantage of the drop in population in this region and crossed the Columbia River and occupied territory occupied by the Umpqua. This was not permanent, however, as they were pushed back to their original homeland.The
Klickitat War erupted in 1855. The Klickitat capitulated and joined in the Yakima treaty at Camp Stevens onJune 9 ,1855 . They ceded their lands to theUnited States . Most of them settled upon the Yakima Reservation.Klickitat Villages Mentioned in Historical Sources
*"Itkilak" (Ithlkilak): at
White Salmon Landing , occupied jointly with theChilluckquittequaw Tribe.
*"Nanshuit": occupied jointly with theChilluckquittequaw Tribe, at Underwood.
*"Shgwaliksh": not far belowMemaloose Island .
*"Tgasgutcu": occupied jointly with theChilluckquittequaw Tribe, said to be about 34 miles west of long high mountain oppositeMosier, Oregon , and about 1 mile above White Salmon Landing but the exact location seems to be in doubt.
*"Wiltkun": exact location unknown.Sources
* [http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/chinook/klikitatindianhist.htm Klikitat Indian History]
* [http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/washington/ Washington Indian Tribes]Further reading
*cite book|last=Judson |first=Katharine Berry |title=Myths and legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon |publisher=McClurg |year=1912 |oclc=10363767 |url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications%5Fdetail.aspx?p=66|format=DJVU |others= Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection |edition=2nd Oral traditions from the Chinook, Nez Perce, Klickitat and other tribes of the Pacific Northwest.
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