Squaxin
The Squaxin (also: Squaxon ) are an Indian tribe that lives in today's Washington state . The 405 members (as of 2000) live in northwest Washington at the south end of Puget Sound in the vicinity of the cities of Kamilche and Shelton . Originally they lived on Squaxin Island , which is their reservation, and some of them live on it again.
The Squaxin belong culturally to the coastal Salish and spoke the Lekwungen dialect; they are closely related to the Twana . Its official name is Squaxin Island Tribe, Squaxin Island Reservation, Washington . Subgroups are Noo-Seh-Chatl in Henderson Inlet, Steh-Chass in Budd Inlet, Squi-Aitl in Eld Inlet, T'Peeksin in Totten Inlet, Sa-Heh-Wa-Mish in Hammersley Inlet, Squawksin in Case Inlet and S ' Hotle-Ma-Mish in Carr Inlet.
The name "Squaxin" is derived from a word for "alone".
history
Early history
The Squaxin, like most coastal Salish, were only permanent in winter. During the warm season, they were mainly found on the islands in Puget Sound . Their number was estimated at around 1,000 in 1780. Like all coastal Salish, they were increasingly harassed by raids and raids by the northern tribes and tried to fight the attackers on Vancouver Island in large coalitions around 1800 . They also took inexperienced warriors with them when fighting on the water. Shortly after 1800 they suffered a heavy defeat against the great war canoes of the Cowichan .
Epidemics, population collapse, treaty with the US
The population collapsed, as with many tribes in the region, as a result of epidemics. The Medicine Creek Treaty (December 26, 1854) gave the tribe a reserve of 1,494.15 acres on Squaxin Island, an island about 8 km long and just over 1 km wide, but the population continued to decline. In 1856 only 375 squaxins were counted, in 1901 only 98. In 1937 the lowest point was reached with 32 tribesmen.
Attempts at assimilation
From 1855 the government tried to turn the Squaxin into farmers in a strictly Euro-American sense. But during and after the Puget Sound War , during which they remained interned on their island, many relatives dispersed, because the tribal boundaries with the coastal Salish were and are very permeable. Until well into the 1860s, the inhabitants of the island, which was very heavily forested and therefore unsuitable for agriculture, refused to adapt to culture. Shamanism and the traditional flattening of heads according to their ideal of beauty were retained, as well as refusing to move into the small government huts that did not conform to their lifestyle.
Probably in the 1870s the Squaxin turned against the Catholic Mission and are therefore Protestant to this day, as was the overall Protestant mission in the Puyallup Agency to which the Squaxin were assigned.
Privatization, Emigration, Indian Shaker Church
In 1874 the reservation was given to 23 Indians as private property and divided. When the Skokomish reservation of the Twana was established on February 25, 1874, 30 Squaxin moved there because only dialect boundaries separated them linguistically, so that communication with close relatives was possible. Other squaxins, however, went to the Quinault reservation .
In 1881 the squaxin John Slocum became terminally ill. However, he survived and founded the Indian Shaker Church , a syncretistic church and religion that integrated Christian and Native American elements. It still exists today and has several thousand members. The first church building was built on Slocum's instructions in 1882 at Shaker Point across from Squaxin Island. 1892 is considered the year the church was founded. Slocum was arrested several times because the government feared a mass religious movement and a general uprising. Since the surveillance was much more intense in the reservations, churches emerged outside. The Church of Mud Bay sought formal recognition, but it wasn't until 1910 that it succeeded. The church leader there was known as Mud Bay Louis , and Slocum incorporated himself into the local ward as the Elder until his death in 1892 .
Self-management
In 1934 the tribe accepted the Indian Reorganization Act , which provided for Indian self-government. On July 8, 1965, the tribe's new constitution was approved by the Interior Ministry . On July 31, 1974, the Squaxin were able to obtain reparation from the Indian Claims Commission for $ 7,661.82 .
Todays situation
In 1984 the tribe had 302 members, in 2000 already 405. 383 of them lived in and around Kamilche, the remaining 22 on Harstine Island .
The leadership of the tribe is taken over by a tribal council . Logging and fishing are still of great importance. Meanwhile, a third of the island is in non-Indian hands and the area has been declared a protected area. The land of the Indians only covers 827.89 acres , plus 105,700 m² in Kamilche, as well as 24,400 m² beyond the Pickering Passage off Squaxin Island and 145,400 m² on Harstine Island. The claimed area covers a total of 6,942 km².
At the "Kamilche" exit of Highway 101 is the tribal center today, the tribe operates the Harstine Oyster Company , an oyster farm , on the small island near Squaxin Island. Salmon are also caught in a stream behind Taylor Towne (Chum and Coho). There are also mussels on the coast of the main island, where there is a salmon farm .
In 1995, the tribe successfully fought the right Clams to collect shells, but only since 2005, this is done on a large scale (especially manila clams , Venerupis philippinarum ). In addition, the tribe is entitled to half of the naturally occurring shellfish . Since such collecting operations take place on private land, this must be discussed with the owners. Every Squaxin must sign a declaration stating that he is adhering to the appropriate agreements and quantities.
literature
- Robert H. Ruby / John A. Brown: A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest , University of Oklahoma Press 1992, pp. 221f.
Web links
See also
Remarks
- ↑ US Census Bureau, 2000
- ↑ See Invertebrates - Manila Clam on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website , archive.org, January 29, 2009.
- ↑ Squaxin Island tribe - Klah-che-min newsletter, March 2009, p. 18.