 A drawing of Clackamas Indians by Paul Kane | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Oregon, United States | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Chinook peoples |
The Clackamas Indians are a band of Chinook of Native Americans who historically lived along the Clackamas River in the Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Today, Clackamas people are enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.
In 1806, Lewis and Clark estimated their population to be 1,800. At the time the tribe lived in 12 villages located from the lower Columbia River to an area what is now called Oregon City. They resided towards the east side of the Willamette River. In February 1841, Reverend François Norbert Blanchet and Reverend Alvin F. Waller converted Clackamas Chief Popoh.[1]
The Clackamas signed a treaty in the fall of 1851, which Oregon Superintendent Anson Dart failed to ratify. They signed another treaty on January 10, 1855, which was ratified on March 3, 1855. The Clackamas were promised $2,500 worth of resources, but the United States only paid a fifth of what was owed.
The tribe subsisted on fish and root vegetables. They constructed large cedar platforms to dip their nets in over Willamette Falls to harvest salmon. Claskamas women dried and smoked salmon. They combined dried, smoked salmon with mixtures of berries and nuts. They preserved food in woven baskets for winter. The Clackamas Indians traded salmon with other tribes. They also harvested and traded wapato, broad-leafed arrowhead or "Indian potato" (Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria cuneata).
Adult Clackamas historically wore leather leggings and tunics. They made skirts and bedding from cedar bark. An indication of high status in the tribe was intricate beadwork, quillwork, feather, and shell decorations. Certain shells served as currency.
Like others of the Chinookan peoples, Clackamas practiced head flattening. From infancy, one's head was compressed between boards thus sloping the forehead backward. This was a way to indicate that a person was free rather than a slave.[2]
The Clackamas were expert woodworkers as they crafted canoes and plank lodges. They traveled along rivers with canoes and transported trade goods and people. A typical canoe was 20 to 30 feet long. With deep knowledge of the Clackamas river systems, the Clackamas people were hired by pioneers as guides to navigate the river systems.
The Willamette Meteorite is culturally significant to Clackamas people. The meteorite is called Tomanowos, which translates to "the visitor of heaven". The meteorite was believed to be given from the Sky People and is the unity between sky, earth, and water. Other tribes around the area thought that the meteorite possessed magical powers.[3]
By 1855, the 88 surviving members of the tribe were relocated to Grand Ronde, Oregon, first to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. They eventually blended in the general population of the Grand Ronde.
Soosap, likely born in 1841, is considered to be the last full-blooded tribal member. His mother was full-blooded Clackamas, his father was Klickitat. Soosap lived off the Grand Ronde reservation in Oregon City, where he was a day laborer. His English name was Joseph Andrews as non-Native people couldn't pronounce his Native name. He was also a known baseball player in the Pacific Northwest.[4]
