Hood Canal’s first inhabitants: TWANA

Wintering near the mouths of local rivers, the Twana people lived in cedar plank homes enjoying a rich livelihood on the fjord. Fish, shellfish, plants, and game provided all year for the families.

The warmer months were marked with visits to neighboring settlements going overland through the Olympic Mountains. They followed the shorelines by dugout canoe to trade as far away as what is now Alaska’s outer coast.

The Twana language, ttuwaduq, is a Salishan dialect, but the Twana people spoke many languages forming alliances through marriage and trade with tribes along the Pacific coast.

In 1792, Vancouver visited Hood Canal. Vancouver journeyed to the Skokomish River, where Menzies, his botanist, marveled at the rich vegetation as well as the natural beauty. He found the Twana marked by the ravages of smallpox, an epidemic introduced by European contact.

After a few days of exploration and trade with the Twana people, Vancouver and his men retraced their path from the Canal leaving a legacy of European names in their wake.

Hood Canal was named by Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver, May 13, 1792, to honor Admiral Lord Samuel Hood.

He wrote “Hood’s Channel” in his journal, but “Hood’s Canal” on his charts. The US Board on Geographic Names chose “Hood Canal” as the official name in 1932.

The Skokomish are descendants of the Twana with traditional territory from the Canal and inland to the Olympic Mountains.

This territory was reduced to the Skokomish Reservation in 1855 by the Treaty of Point No Point as these peoples were allotted the territory of the Skokomish Twana or sqWuqWu’b3sH, “the people of the river,” located along the Skokomish River. No longer could they travel freely to summer villages to collect and tend resources, including berries and root crops, as areas became pre-empted by newcomers. The Skokomish diversified their skills to become loggers and millworkers, as well as land and shellfish farmers and fisherpeople.

The Skokomish are passionate about their heritage and are one of twenty-six tribes in the US that have been designated with a Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO).

The Skokomish recently oversaw the excavation of an archaeological site in partnership with the WA State Department of Wildlife on a wetland rehabilitation project along the Union River at the Theler Wetlands Center in Belfair. Artifacts recovered here were transferred to the care of the Skokomish Tribe. Theler Wetlands Center hosts this archaeological site as part of an interpretative trail system.

Skokomish Tribal Center

80 N Tribal Center Rd, Skokomish | (360) 426-4232 skokomish.org Artifacts, carvings, totems, baskets, historical photos, documents. Call for hours of operation.

Lucky Dog Casino

19330 N Highway 101, Skokomish | (360) 877-5656 theluckydogcasino.net Games, entertainment, regular promotions, as well as a full service restaurant, North Fork Bar & Grill.

Skokomish (sko-KO-mish) comes from two words meaning “big river people,” skookum (river) and mish (a suffix found in Northwest tribal names meaning “people”). 7