The Lummi Indians, also known as the Lhaq’temish, People of the Sea, are a prominent Coast Salish tribe with deep historical ties to the San Juan Islands and the broader Puget Sound region of Washington State. Understanding their history, customs, and relationship with the land provides a fascinating glimpse into a culture that has thrived for millennia in the Pacific Northwest. This article will delve into various aspects of the Lummi people, including their origins, language, traditional way of life, medicinal practices, spiritual beliefs, and the challenges they have faced in the modern era.
Origins and Identity
The Lummi are considered the principal tribe among more than twenty smaller Salishan groups who historically inhabited the shores, islands, and eastern reaches of Puget Sound. Their name for themselves, Nuglummi (pronounced with a long "u"), translates to "the People," a testament to their enduring sense of identity. The name Lhaq’temish, meaning "People of the Sea," reflects their profound connection to the marine environment that has sustained them for generations. The shorter, more commonly used term "Lummi" is generally pronounced with a short "u."
Historical Presence in the San Juan Islands
The Lummi Indians were among the first inhabitants of San Juan Island, establishing encampments particularly along the northern end of the island. These north-end beaches served as vital gathering places, especially during the annual salmon migration. Hundreds of tribal members would converge along the shoreline to engage in fishing, cooking, exchanging news, and reinforcing community bonds. The San Juan Islands were a significant part of their traditional territory, providing essential resources and serving as a seasonal hub for their activities.
Language and Linguistic Connections
The original Lummi spoke the Songish dialect of the Salish language family. This language shares close similarities, with slight dialectic variations, to the languages spoken by the Samish and Klalam to the south, the Semiamu to the north in British Columbia, and the Songish, Sanetch, and Sooke peoples of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Salish language continues to be spoken by many people today, underscoring its resilience and cultural importance.
A History Rooted in the Land and Sea
For an estimated 12,000 years, the Lummi have maintained a close relationship with the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding mountain regions. Their traditional territory encompassed a vast area, including the San Juan Islands and present-day western Whatcom County. They practiced a seasonal lifestyle, returning to their longhouses located in scattered locations within their territory. This pattern of movement allowed them to take full advantage of the diverse resources available throughout the year.
Subsistence and Resource Management
The Lummi diet was rich in protein, primarily consisting of salmon, followed by trout, shellfish, elk, deer, and other small wildlife. They also relied on starchy camas bulbs and sun-dried berries for sustenance. To preserve their food supply, they employed smoking techniques to dry meat and seafood. Furthermore, they were skilled in resource management, using carefully controlled burning to prepare fields for cultivating camas, tiger lilies, onions, and other edible plants. This practice ensured a sustainable and reliable food source.
Traditional Way of Life
Like many Northwest Coast peoples, the Lummi lived in winter villages composed of large cedar plank longhouses. During the warmer months, they dispersed to fish, hunt, and maintain shellfish beds and upland gardens. Their craftsmanship was highly developed, with the weaving of wool blankets from dog and goat hair and the creation of baskets from cedar bark, limbs, and roots, as well as wild cherry bark, rye grass, bear grass, and nettle fibers.
The Lummi Indians were also innovative in their fishing techniques, designing commonly used methods such as the reef net, the weir, and the purse seine. Their language and religious traditions found expression through elaborate carvings on totems and through complex ceremonies.
Traditional Medicine and Healing Practices
The Lummi possessed a deep understanding of the natural world and its healing properties. Their medicine chest included a variety of plants and herbs used to treat various ailments. For example, yarrow flowers were boiled into a tea to relieve body aches and sinus congestion, while the buds of cedar were chewed and swallowed for sore lungs and toothaches. The entire lady fern plant was utilized for both medicinal purposes and as a dye. Tea made from currant twigs served as a painkiller. These examples represent just a fraction of the hundreds of natural medicines that the Lummi used in the past and continue to utilize today.
Spiritual Beliefs and Practices
The Lummi hold a profound spiritual connection to the natural world, particularly to the ancient cedar, hemlock, and Douglas fir forest of Arlecho Creek near Mt. Baker, Washington. This area serves as a sacred site for members of seyown, the Lummi Spirit Dancing Society, who have worshiped there for millennia. Their practices include fasting, taking purifying dips in the ice-cold creek, and bringing back special songs to sing for the rest of their lives. The Lummi believe that these songs are intrinsically linked to the specific animals of the forest, and that the destruction of the forest would invalidate their songs and sever their spiritual connection.
An ancient Lummi prophecy states, "When the trees are gone the sky will fall and we and the salmon will be no more," highlighting the inseparable connection between the environment and their cultural survival. After decades of struggle, the destruction of Arlecho Creek was halted with the sale of the 2,265-acre basin to the Lummi Nation, ensuring the preservation of this sacred site.
Social Structure and Governance
Lummi society was traditionally family-centered and village-oriented, characterized by complex interrelationships. Leaders earned their status through their wisdom and demonstrated abilities. Marriages were often arranged to facilitate trade relationships and strengthen alliances. The Lummi were renowned artisans, skilled in crafting boats, seine nets, houses, and numerous other artifacts. They were also part of a sophisticated regional political network, engaging in diplomacy and trade with other tribes.
The Lummi Indians believe that an unborn child can hear the thoughts and words of their future relatives. If those thoughts are negative, the child may choose not to be born into that family. This belief underscores the importance of maintaining positive and harmonious relationships within the community.
Symbols and Art
Lummi art is rich in symbolism, particularly in their totem poles and cedar masks. Master carvers create representations of animals such as the raven, frog, eagle, and salmon, each carrying specific meanings. The murrelet, an endangered sea bird, symbolizes fortune and is often associated with the "totem of the pot-latch," representing the gathering of people. Bears carved into totem poles embody courage and strength, while the frog, known as Wexes in the Lummi language, represents metamorphosis and the emergence of one’s creative power.
Impact of European Contact
The Lummi began to experience European influences around 1800, engaging in trade with Russians, Spaniards, Japanese, and Englishmen for approximately half a century before encountering traders from the United States. By 1850, the Americans had taken over where the others had left off. However, unlike their predecessors, the United States traders were primarily interested in acquiring raw materials and land, leading to increasing pressure on the Lummi.
The introduction of diseases such as smallpox in the 18th and 19th centuries had a devastating impact on the Lummi population. Smallpox Bay, where tribal members sought relief from fevers by plunging into the icy water, stands as a grim reminder of this period. In the forty years following the start of trade with white men, the Lummi population was reduced by half. Despite these challenges, the Lummi people have demonstrated remarkable resilience, with the population rebounding from 435 in 1909 to over 3,500 enrolled tribal members today.
Treaty of Point Elliot and Reservation Establishment
By the mid-19th century, the Lummi began to experience the erosion of their vibrant social and political structures. Around 1850, many Lummi were converted to Christianity through the efforts of Roman Catholic missionaries. In 1855, the Lummi Nation signed the Treaty of Point Elliot with the U.S., ceding much of their homeland in western Washington Territory in exchange for a designated reservation. The initial reservation consisted of 15,000 acres and was intended for the Nooksacks, Samishes, and other local natives, although it was primarily inhabited by Lummis. Today, approximately 12,000 acres remain under Lummi control.
Modern Governance and Legal Battles
In 1948, the Lummi Nation adopted a tribal constitution, which was amended and ratified in 1970, establishing the current government structure consisting of an 11-member tribal business council elected by tribal members. That year, the council filed a claim with the Indian Claims Commission for additional compensation for the land ceded in the 1855 treaty, arguing that the initial amount was inadequate. The commission initially rejected the claim, but the U.S. Court of Claims reversed the decision in 1972, awarding the tribe an additional $57,000.
Contemporary Lummi Nation
The Lummi Reservation is located seven miles northwest of Bellingham, Washington, in the western portion of Whatcom County, approximately 95 miles north of Seattle. The reservation comprises a five-mile-long peninsula that forms Lummi Bay on the west and Bellingham Bay on the east, along with the smaller peninsula of Sandy Point, Portage Island, and associated tidelands.
For thousands of years, the Lummi and other tribes had fished sustainably without harming the salmon runs. However, with the arrival of white settlers, the salmon population began to decline due to overfishing, habitat destruction caused by logging and farming practices, and the construction of dams. In 1974, U.S. Federal District Court judge George Boldt handed down a landmark decision that affirmed Indian fishing rights and guaranteed treaty Indians 50 percent of the allowable salmon harvest.
Fishing and shellfish gathering remain the principal means of livelihood for many Lummi. The tribe has taken a proactive approach to addressing the salmon decline, playing a major role in maintaining the region’s fish stocks and responsibly managing the threatened salmon resource. This effort includes operating a reservation salmon hatchery and maintaining the largest Native American fishing fleet in the Pacific Northwest.
Key cultural ceremonies for the Lummi Indians include the First Salmon Ceremony, the Ancestral Mask Dance, and the Lummi Blanket Dance. These events celebrate their connection to the land, their ancestors, and their cultural identity.