This section contains a time of major events and milestones in the Elwha community between 1700 and today. The information is divided into centuries:
1700 - 1799 Exploration
1800 - 1899 Treaty Era, A Time of Tremendous Change and Loss
1900 - 1999 Self-Governance, A Time to Rebuild
2000 - Present Cultural Revival, A Time of Renewal
1700 - Exploration
- 1700 - An estimated 9-magnitude earthquake in Pacific Northwest causes a tsunami in Japan
- 1782 - Small pox epidemic
- 1787 - Strait of Juan de Fuca named by Charles Barkley
- 1788 - Robert Duffin encounters Klallam Indians at Discovery Bay
- 1789 - Robert Gray reaches Clallam Bay
- 1790 - Spanish explorer Manuel Quimper lands at Freshwater Bay and Dungeness
- 1791 - Port Angeles named Nuestra Senora de los Angeles by Juan Francisco de Eliza
- Spanish military post established at Discovery Bay
- 1792 - George Vancouver explores the Olympic Peninsula
1800 - Treaty Era, A Time of Tremendous Change and Loss
- 1804 - Lewis and Clark Expedition begins
- 1819 - Spain surrenders claim to Pacific Northwest
- 1824 - Russia surrenders claim to Pacific Northwest
- 1828 - The Hudson's Bay Company launches punitive expedition against the Klallam
- 1833 - Nisqually House records show evidence of Klallams trading
- 1841 - Wilkes explores Puget Sound and reports potatoes being grown by Port Discovery Klallam
- 1842 - Mass migration of white settlers begins along the Oregon Trail
- 1843 - James Douglas establishes Fort Victoria
- 1846 - Establishment of 49th parallel
- 1847 - Paul Kane documents visit to Ennis Village site in Port Angeles
- 1848 - Measles and dysentery epidemic
- 1850 - Donation Land Act of Oregon
- 1851 - First settlers in Port Townsend
- 1852 - Settlement of Dungeness area begins at Whiskey Flats
- 1853 - Washington Territory established
- The Appropriation Act authorized the President of the United States to negotiate with
Indian tribes to extinguish title to their lands so that citizens of the U.S. could settle these
lands
- 1854 - Treaty of Medicine Creek signed on December 26th
- 1855 - Point No Point Treaty signed on January 25th by Governor Isaac Stevens and
representatives of the S’Klallam, Skokomish, and Chemakum Tribes
- Gibbs' census shows 926 Klallams
- 1856-1857 - Indian war, Puget Sound Indians fought for suitable landbase
- 1857-1859 - First settlers in Port Angeles
- 1858 - Gold was discovered in Frazer River, causing the population to swell
- 1859 - Congress ratifies the Point No Point Treaty on March 8th
- Smallpox epidemic
- Michael Simmons recommended that the Clallams be allowed a reserve at Clallam Bay. It
was not approved.
- 1862 - Smallpox epidemic
- Census shows 1,300 Klallams
- Many Klallams from Port Angeles mover over to Beecher Bay
- 1863 - Ethnographer George Gibbs documented Klallam historic information
- Port Angeles land sale
- 1871 - End of treaty making with U.S. government and Tribes
- 1872 - An effort to create a reservation on Ediz Hook failed to pass
- 1874 - Amendment to Homestead Act to extend to Indians
- Lord Jim Balch purchased 210 acres so the 140 Klallams could live at Jamestown
- Many Klallams at Port Gamble and Elwha took up Indian Homesteads. At Elwha there
were 14 homesteads on the Elwha River, Deep Creek, Jim Creek and Twin River totaling over 1,500 acres
- 1875 - Smallpox epidemic
- 1878 - Census shows 597 Klallams
- 1879 - Dysentery, fever, phthisis, scrofula, and syphilis are among the most common illnesses
among Coast Indians
- 1880 - Chemawa Indian School starts
- 1881 - Lung disease, measles, and scarlet fever break out
- 1882 - Origin of Shaker Religion
- 1883 - Population of Port Angeles grew
- 1884 - Indian Homestead Act
- 1885 - Shaker Church in Jamestown
- 1887 - General Allotment Act
- Reverend Myron Eells wrote about the Klallam
- Port Angeles population over 600
- 1889 - Washington becomes 42nd state
- 1890 - Influenza epidemic
- 1893 - Last Klallam secret society initiation held in Port Angeles
1900 - Self-Governance, A Time to Rebuild
- 1906 - Burke Act, 25 year trust status on alloted lands removed
- 1910 - Construction begins on the Elwha Dam
- Fishing laws and regulations exclude Klallam from fishing
- 1911 - Quinault opened for allotment but the Klallams refused to relocate
- 1912 - Elwha Dam breaks
- 1913 - Edward S. Curtis recorded Klallam language and songs
- 1914 - Construction of Elwha Dam completed
- 1916 - The State of Washington ruled that off-reservation fishing was subject to state control. After
this ruling the Indians were arrested for fishing
- 1918 - Flu epidemic hits Port Angeles
- 1920 - Anthropologist T.T. Waterman wrote extensively about the Klallam
- Smallpox epidemic
- 1924 - Indian Citizenship Act passes
- 1925 - Construction begins on the Glines Canyon Dam
- 1927 - Erna Gunther wrote Klallam Ethnography
- 1930 - There were still over 30 Klallam families living on Ediz Hook
- 1933 - Relocation of families off of Ediz Hook
- 1934 - Indian Reorganization Act
- Johnson O'Malley Act
- 1935 - Anthropologist William W. Elmendorf recorded Klallam language and history
- 1937 - A reservation for the Elwha Klallam Tribe is established with 372 acres at the mouth of the
Elwha River
- 1939 - Port Gamble becomes Federally Recognized
- 1942 - Linguist John Peabody Harrington recorded over 250 Klallam place names
- 1951 - Anthropologist Wayne Suttles recorded Klallam language and history
- 1953 - Indian Claims Commission established. Way to pay off Indian claims with no option for
return of lands.
- Termination Act
- Anthropologist Leon Matcalf recorded Klallam language and history
- 1959 - Enthomusicologist Willard Rhodes recorded Klallam music and language
- 1964-1971 - Linguists Laurence and Terry Thompson recorded extensively Klallam language and
history
- 1966 - National Historic Preservation Act amended
- 1968 - The Elwha Klallam Tribe becomes a Federally Recognized Tribe
- Indian Civil Rights Act
- Amendments to Public Law 280
- 1972 - The Elwha Klallam Tribe participated with other Wachington State tribes in a lawsuit filed
against the State of Washington, U.S. v. Washington, to regain their fishing rights
- 1974 - Boldt decision in U.S. v. Washington upholds tribal fishing rights
- Anthropologist Dr. Wayne Suttles has written extensively about the Klallams
- 1975 - Construction of a Community Center, Fish Hatchery, and Group Home on the Elwha
Klallam Reservation
- Self Determination and Indian Education and Assistance Act
- 1976 - Anthroplogist Mark Fleisher recorded Klallam language
- 1977 - Manis mastadon site discovered
- Indian Claims Commission makes payment for lands (750,000 acres) to the three Klallam
bands, each received $100,000 from the Point No Point Treaty of 1855
- 1978 - American Indian Religious Freedom Act
- Indian Child Welfare Act
- 1978-1980 - Linguist Timothy Montler recorded Klallam language
- 1979 - The Boldt Decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court
- 1981 - Jamestown becomes Federally Recognized
- 1985 - Linguist Steven Egesdahl recorded Klallam language
- 1988 - Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, to provide for Tribal Gaming
- Self Determination expanded
- 1989 - Army Corps of Engineers builds a flood control dike to protect the valley from the
Elwha River flooding
- Centennial Accord between Washington State and Tribes signed
- Paddle to Seattle takes place as part of the Washington State Centennnial
- 1990 - Amendments to the Native American Language Act
- Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
- The Indian Arts and Crafts Act
- 1991 - Anthropologist Jackilee Wray recorded Klallam history
- Jamestown and Port Gamble become self-governance tribes
- 1992 - Klallam Language Program starts
- Amendments to National Historic Preservation Act
- Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act
- Elwha Klallam Tribe becomes a self-governance Tribe
- 1993 - Religious Freedoms Restoration Act
- Governor Lowry signs gaming compact
- 1994 - Judge Rafeedie upholds right to shellfish
- Self-governance becomes permanent law
- Memorandum on Government to Government Relations
- 1996 - Executive Order 13007 protects sacred sites of federal lands
2000 - Cultural Revival, A Time of Renewal
- 2000 - Federal government acquires Elwha River dams
- 2003 - Construction begins on the Port Angeles dry dock uncovering acient Klallam village of
Tse-whit-zen
- First Peoples Language Bill passes
- The Klallam Language Board was established and 5 Tribal members became Tribal certified
to teach the Klallam Language. Jamie Valadez became state certified to teach the Klallam
Language
- 2004 - Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian opens
- 2005 - History and Culture Bill passes
- Elwha Klallam Tribe hosts Paddle to Elwha canoe journey. Over 70 canoes and over 5000
participants arrive
- 2006 - Tribe reaches settlement with the state over Tse-whit-zen
- Wendy Sampson becomes state certified to teach the Klallam Language