page_title: Chinookan peoples
hierarchical_section_title: Chinookan peoples
context_page_description: Chinookan peoples include several groups of indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages. Chinookan-speaking peoples reside along the Lower and Middle Columbia River from the river's gorge downstream to the river's mouth, and along adjacent portions of the coasts, from Tillamook Head of present-day Oregon in the south, north to Willapa Bay in southwest Washington. In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered the Chinook Tribe on the lower Columbia. There are several theories about where the name ″Chinook″ came from. Some say it is a Chehalis word Tsinúk for the inhabitants of and a particular village site on Baker Bay, or "Fish Eaters". It may also be a word meaning "strong fighters".
  Some Chinookan speaking people are part of several federally recognized Tribes: the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
  The Chinook Indian Nation, consisting of the five western most Tribes of Chinookan peoples, Lower Chinook, Clatsop, Willapa, Wahkiakum and Kathlamet is currently working to obtain federal recognition.
context_section_description: Chinookan peoples include several groups of indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages. Chinookan-speaking peoples reside along the Lower and Middle Columbia River (Wimahl) (″Big River″) from the river's gorge (near the present town of The Dalles, Oregon) downstream (west) to the river's mouth, and along adjacent portions of the coasts, from Tillamook Head of present-day Oregon in the south, north to Willapa Bay in southwest Washington. In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered the Chinook Tribe on the lower Columbia. There are several theories about where the name ″Chinook″ came from. Some say it is a Chehalis word Tsinúk for the inhabitants of and a particular village site on Baker Bay, or "Fish Eaters". It may also be a word meaning "strong fighters".
  Some Chinookan speaking people are part of several federally recognized Tribes: the Yakama Nation (primarily Wishram, upper Washington side Chinookans), the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation (primarily Wasco, Upper Oregon side Chinookans), Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (Middle Chinookan people), Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (Upper and Middle Chinookans).
  The Chinook Indian Nation, consisting of the five western most Tribes of Chinookan peoples, Lower Chinook, Clatsop, Willapa, Wahkiakum and Kathlamet is currently (2019) working to obtain federal recognition. The Chinook Nation gained Federal Recognition in 2001 from the Department of Interior under President Bill Clinton. After President George W. Bush was elected, his political appointees reviewed the case and, in a highly unusual action, revoked the recognition.
  The Chinook Nation sought Congressional support for recognition by the legislature in 2008 with a Bill Introduced by Brian Baird. The Bill died in Congress.
  The unrecognized Tchinouk Indians of Oregon trace their Chinook ancestry to two Chinook women who married French Canadians traders from the Hudson's Bay Company prior to 1830. The specific Chinook band these women were from or if they were Lower or Upper Chinook could not be determined. These individuals, settled in the French Prairie region of northwestern Oregon, becoming part of the community of French-Canadians and Métis (Mix-Bloods). There is no evidence that they are a distinct Indian community within French Prairie. The Chinook Indian Nation denied that the Tchinouk had any common history with them or any organizational affiliation. On January 16, 1986, the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined that the Tchinouk Indians of Oregon do not meet the requirements necessary to be a federally recognized tribe.
  The unrecognized Clatsop-Nehalem Confederate Tribes was formed in 2000. The Clatsop-Nehalem have approximately 130 members and claim to have Chinookan and Salish-speaking Tillamook (Nehalem) ancestry. This is contested by the Chinook Indian Nation. The Indian Claims Commission, Docket 234, found, in 1957, that the Clatsop Chinooks were part of the Chinook Indian Nation. The Indian Claims Commission also found in Docket 240, 1962, that the Nehalem people were part of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
caption: Location of Chinookan territory early in the 19th century
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