QUILEUTE

Quileute legend has it that the first tribal members were transformed from wolves by a supernatural being. Perhaps among the most ancient of the region’s tribes, the Quileute lived on the lower Quillayute River in present-day northwestern Washington State. They were one of only three groups who spoke a Chimakuan, or Chimakum, language. The two other tribes, the Chimakum proper inland to the Quileute’s east and the Hoh to the south along the Hoh River, may have in fact been subdivisions of the Quileute. The meaning of the name Quileute, also spelled Quillayute and pronounced quill-uh-OOT, is not known; it was also a village name. Neighbors included the MAKAH to the north, the QUINAULT to the south, and the Clallam (or Klallam) to the west.

The Quileute lived a way of life similar to other northwest coast Indians, placing cedar plank houses near water, depending on the sea and rivers for sustenance, having social classes and secret societies, and practicing an elaborate set of rituals. Fish, especially salmon, was essential to their diet, but they also pursued sea mammals in dugout canoes and were reputed to be among the most highly skilled seal hunters of the region’s tribes. They also went after whales and perhaps learned whaling techniques from the Makah. The Quileute spun long dog hair into blankets (from dogs bred for this purpose) and wove baskets, some of which were capable of holding water. Quileute youths

Searched for their personal guardian power—taxilit—on vision or spirit quests.

Spanish mariners exploring the coastline probably had early contact with the Quileute. The American captain Robert Gray established a trade relationship with them in 1792. Non-Indian settlers arrived in the region in the 1830s. In 1856, the Quileute were among the tribes to sign the Quinault River Treaty with representatives of the territorial governor Isaac Stevens, according to which they were supposed to settle on the Quinault Reservation in Taholah. But the Quileute refused to leave their homeland. In February 1889, the federal government established a one-mile-square reservation at La Push.

The Hoh Reservation was established in 1893. In 1904, the federal government granted some Quileute individuals an 80-acre tract each on the Quinault Reservation. Some other Quileute settled among the Makah on the Makah Reservation. In 1963, the Quileute and Hoh were compensated financially by the Indian Claims Commission for treaty violations against them.

Modern Quileute people earn their livelihood from fishing and logging. In 2004, the Quileute decided to begin selling canned salmon and formed a partnership with the Lower Elwha Klallam, who already had experience in canning. A cultural celebration known as Quileute Days is staged annually in July at La Push.