Elwha Watershed Information Resource

Traditionally, salmon was the most important food source for the Tribe, and as such, played an important role in tribal culture. The Tribe also supplemented their diet by harvesting shellfish and other near-shore resources, and hunting whales.  

Fishing

The Tribe caught a variety of fish: spring salmon, humpback salmon, silver salmon, two varieties of dog salmon, steelhead, halibut, ling cod, flounder, herring, smelts, and candlefish (Gunther 1927). Fishing was a year-round activity for the Tribe, but different types of fish were caught in particular seasons. Some fish were caught in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but much of the salmon fishing was done in the Elwha River. After the two hydroelectric dams were built on the river, the salmon could no longer travel upriver, and the Tribe’s access to the salmon was severely restricted. The Tribe built a hatchery in 1975 to improve the fisheries in the few miles of river below the lower dam (Cultural Advisory Committee 2003). 

Traditionally, fishing was performed by the men of the village. Women sometimes helped fish for halibut and ling cod, but not salmon. Salmon were caught using a variety of methods: river traps, trolling, line fishing, nets, and spearing (Gunther 1927). Although they did not usually participate in the actual fishing, the women of the Tribe cleaned and smoked the fish, and made and mended the fishing nets (Jamestown Klallam Tribe).

In contrast to fishing, gathering shellfish was traditionally considered to be a woman’s job. The women, who were sometimes accompanied by children, would either gather shellfish from village beaches or make short canoe trips to nearby beaches on gathering expeditions (Gunther 1927). In traditional times, men rarely helped gather shellfish, although there was no stigma associated with it.  However, clam digging had become a family affair by the 1900s (Shaffer and others 2004).

The shellfish and other near-shore resources were collected in woven baskets. The gatherers used a clamming stick (a hard wood stick “with a pointed end and a straight handle, sometimes with a knobbed grip”) to dig up any shellfish that lived in the ground (Shaffer and others 2004). Once collected, some types of shellfish were dried for later use. For instance, the Tribe prepared dried clams (butter, cockle, and horse) by steaming them first, then cleaning them and removing the shells so that they could be threaded onto a wooden stick and propped over a fire for drying (Gunther 1927). Afterwards, the dried clams would be placed onto strings and could be kept as food or traded for goods.

Like fishing, the types of shellfish that were gathered depended on the season. Some seasonal restrictions were enforced with conservation in mind--for example, certain shellfish were not harvested when they were reproducing. Other restrictions may have been based on health concerns. For instance, some additional restrictions about summer gathering may have been designed to avoid consumption of poisonous shellfish from the red tide (Shaffer and others 2004). 

Today, the Klallam people collect oysters, geoduck, clams, crabs, and mussels.

Hunting

The people that lived at Indian Creek were considered hunters. Comtemporary descendants of the headman of this village, Hunter John, have recollections of camping locations in the mountainous regions of the Elwha.

Hurrican Hill was a prominent elk resource area. Waterman notes a location called 'sməyəc,' which means elk, as the devil's backbone near Hurrican Hill ridge.

The Klallam hunted elk in the mountains as far as Elwha Lake, past the mountains. This was before there was much or any European contact. Another consultant hunted elk with Boston Charlie 'up to the head of the Elwha.' A third consultant said the Klallam hunted elk east and west of Mt. Olympus (Wray 1999).

Deer was also hunted. They were either trapped in a pitfall, caught with a snare, or stalked with a bow and arrow. Some used a deerhead disguise, whistled like a fawn, or used their dogs to drive the deer into a narrow pass to be netted.  

Black bears were hunted with bows and arrows. They were caught in deadfalls and smoked out of their winter dens (Suttles and Sturtevant 1990).

"......Upon arriving in the vicinity of Griff Creek, a tributary of the Elwha river, the party met with a hunting party of Indians who directed their attention to a trail over the mountains...." (Wray 1995) 

                        --The Press Expedition of 1889   

Hunting Whales

The Klallam Tribe hunted grey whales. Unlike other tribes who hunted whales, such as the Makah, the Klallam people did not go on extended whaling expeditions. Instead, the tribe would wait until a whale came into view near their village, and then they would send out the village whaler in a canoe with eight or ten men. The whaler would throw a harpoon at the whale to kill it; afterwards, the whale was towed to the beach and immediately cut up. In addition to whales, the Klallam also hunted porpoise, blackfish, and seal (Gunther 1927). 

Although the Klallam hunted grey whales and other sea mammals, they had great respect for them. In fact, Killer Whale is an important character in tribal folklore and is considered a protector of the Tribe. The Tribe included Killer Whale on its logo, along with Thunderbird, a symbol of power in war and wealth. Wealth and power were defined by bows, arrows, shirts, food, and blankets (Cultural Advisory Committee 2003).

 

References

1. Gunther, E. 1927. "Klallam Ethnography." University of Washington Publication in Anthropology. Volume 1, Number 5. Pages 171 to 314. 
   
2. Women's Responsibility. Jamestown Klallam Tribe.  http://www.jamestowntribe.org/jstweb_2007/history/hist_women.htm
   
3. Olympic Peninsula Intertribal Cultural Advisory Committee. 2003. Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula. Edited by Jacilee Wray. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman, OK.
   
4. Shaffer, A., and others. 2004. Native American Traditional Contemporary Knowledge of the Northern Olympic Peninsula Nearshore.
   
5. Suttles, W. and W. Sturtevant. 1990. Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest Coast.  Smithsonian Institution.
   
6. Wray, J. 1995. Historic context.
   
7. Wray, J. 1999. Klalla, Sites.