Lummi
The Lummi (or Lummi Nation , Lhaq'temish, People of the Sea) are an Indian tribe in the US state of Washington . The tribe lives in the Lummi Indian Reservation on the northwest coast, about 13 km from Bellingham and a good 30 km south of the border between Canada and the USA. The Lummi belong to the group of coastal Salish , which belong to the Salish language family , but, in contrast to their inland relatives, cultivate a culture that is strongly influenced by the peculiarities of the coast and the sea. The Lummi spoke the same dialect as the Songhees on Vancouver Island , the Lekwungen.
The name of the tribe is said to go back to Wayne Suttles (1918-2005), an anthropologist and linguist, on a house on the Lummi reservation at Gooseberry Point.
Between July 30th and August 4th 2007, the Lummi held their first potlatch in around 70 years. 68 families from Washington and British Columbia rowed into the reservation.
In 1989 the tribe had 2,846 members, but the number of registered tribal members increased to 4,219 by 2005. The descendants of other tribes also live in the reserve, which is why the inhabitants are collectively referred to as the Lummi Tribe of Nations .
history
In addition to the seasonal migrations typical of all coastal residents, which accordingly led to only temporarily inhabited villages, the Lummi laid reef nets on Orcas Island , San Juan Island , Lummi Island and Fidalgo Island , as well as at Point Roberts and Sandy Point. Camas , dried berries, marine animals, but also land animals were part of their diet. Camas and berries in particular were also used for trade. For the period around 1780, the number of lummi was estimated at around 1,000. Before 1850, the Lummi relocated their villages from the San Juan Islands to the adjacent mainland in order to escape the smallpox and looting tribes of British Columbia from 1775 . As they followed them, they built palisade villages to defend themselves, much like most of the coastal tribes. In relocating their villages, they came into conflict with tribes living there and on the Nooksack River , such as the Hulwhaluq and the Skalakhan. The two groups were assimilated.
According to the Treaty of Point Elliott of January 22, 1855, signed by Chief Chowitshoot , the Lummi, numbered from 386 to 500 individuals, moved to a reserve with an area of 54.378 km² which includes the Lummi Peninsula and the uninhabited Portage Island . It stretched from Lummi Bay in the west to Bellingham Bay in the east. But the move stretched over several years - in 1857 there was a Lummi group at each of the three mouths of the Lummi or Nooksack River - especially since the contract did not take effect until 1859.
On November 22, 1873, the reserve was enlarged to approximately 13,600 acres (from 12,562.94). The reserve was originally intended for several tribes, such as the Nooksack and Samish , but most of them did not move there or they would soon leave. So the Lummi stayed largely to themselves.
Shortly after the contract was signed, Catholic missionaries came to the Lummi. A missionary station was established under the leadership of the Jesuits Eugène Casimir Chirouse (not to be confused with his nephew Eugène-Casimir Chirouse ) and Louis J. D'Herbomez. The Lummi are Catholic to this day.
In 1856, a military base was also established at Fort Bellingham, but it was abandoned in 1860 (officially 1868). In 1858 the Lummi traded with the gold miners moving to the Fraser River . As early as 1856, a Lummi chief had to take a canoe to Victoria to get blankets that had been exchanged for spirits. They asked for an Indian agent from whom they hoped to protect themselves against attacks by whites.
Many Lummi continued to follow their traditional way of life, as best as was possible under the anti-nomadic conditions. Many also hired themselves out to whites, and so in 1871 Indians were on the monthly payroll in Bellingham for $ 700 .
In 1897 a court ruled against the prerogatives of the Lummi and in favor of the Alaska Packers Association based in Point Roberts near the Canadian border . In doing so, they lost fishing rights, some of which were only restored in 1974.
In 1948 the Lummi adopted a tribal constitution, but changed it in 1970. An eleven-member Tribal Council forms the government. The tribe members form the General Council, which meets at least once a year. On this occasion he elects a third of the tribal council for three years. The tribal council appoints tribesmen to serve on committees to oversee tribal businesses.
In 1950, 10,162 acres of the reserve land were allotted as private land. 4,824 acres were sold, reducing the Trustland to 7,598 acres . Only 20 acres of the Trustland were in tribal ownership.
In 1957, the Indian Claims Commission found that exactly 107,500 acres of land had been taken from the Lummi in 1855 . After deducting the reserve area and the river courses with special rights, 72,560 acres remained . On March 2, 1962, it set the value of the country in 1859 at $ 52,067. Since it was difficult to determine how high the compensation had been through the Point Elliott Treaty, 10 of the 23 tribes named there were combined and their total claims were divided equally. This came to $ 33,634.13. That would have given the tribe barely $ 16,500. In 1972 the tribe sued the decision and received $ 57,000 instead with the judgment of October 22, 1970.
In 1970 the tribe set up commercial fish farms with the help of the Lummi Business Council , but they are endangered by the sewage from the Nooksack. The Indian Health Service provided improved medical and dental care.
In 1975 the homes of 57 families were destroyed in a flood by the Nooksack River.
Current situation
The number of people living in the reserve is estimated at 6,590. Of these, however, only around 2,600 are registered tribal members, 665 live with registered members, plus more than 3,300 non-members of the Lummi Nation. There were a total of 4,219 registered tribal members as of April 2005, nearly 32% of whom were under 18. Unemployment was just under 16%.
The children go to either Ferndale School or Bellingham Church School.
The Lummi Stommi Water Carnival takes place every year in mid-June , when Lummi canoes races against each other. Other coastal Salish groups were added later, now also from Canada . This celebrates the end of the hostilities between the tribes in 1821. In 2007, after around 70 years, the Lummi celebrated another potlatch.
Like the four host nations of Lil'wat , Musqueam , Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh , the Lummi also want to take part in the 2010 Winter Olympics and the subsequent Paralympics . To do this, they purchased a property outside the reservation west of Interstate 5 , which connects Seattle and Vancouver . The Gateway Center has been under construction there since September 2008. In addition to a gallery and a cultural center for the presentation of Lummi culture to an international audience, several shops are located there. The non-commercial Lummi Nation Service Organization and commercial Lummi Ventures operate the company. The Lummi expect more visitors to the reserve, especially in the Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa , which has 105 rooms. It is one of the largest employers, employs 550 people and hosted over a million visitors in 2007.
literature
- Daniel L. Boxberger: To Fish in Common: The Ethnohistory of Lummi Indian Salmon Fishing , Columbia Classics 2000
- Robert H. Ruby / John A. Brown: A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest , University of Oklahoma Press 1992, pp. 111-114
See also
Web links
- Lummi Indian Business Council
- Treaty of 1855
- Map of the Lummi Reserve (PDF file; 480 kB)