Lummi

The Lummi (/ˈlʌmi/ LUM-ee; Lummi: Xwlemi [χʷləˈmi]; also known as Lhaq'temish (LOCK‐tuh‐mish), or People of the Sea[1]), governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group in the Pacific Northwest region of Washington state in the United States. The federally recognized tribe primarily resides on and around the Lummi Indian Reservation (48°45′N 122°39′W) to the west of Bellingham in western Whatcom County, 20 miles (32 km) south of the border with Canada.

Lummi
Xwlemi
Total population
6,590 (2000)
Regions with significant populations
Whatcom County
Languages
English, Lummi
Religion
American Indian pantheism, Christianity, other
Related ethnic groups
other Coast Salish peoples

History

The original Lummi spoke the Songish dialect of the Salish language, a cultural feature that persists to the present. Their ancient villages bore the evocative names Hutatchl, Lemaltcha, Statshum and Tomwhiksen. For 12,000 years, the Lummi subsisted near the sea and in mountain areas. They returned seasonally to their longhouses situated at scattered locales on the present reservation in today's western Whatcom County and the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Their protein-rich diet consisted principally of salmon, followed by trout, shellfish, elk, deer, other wildlife , starchy camas bulbs and sun-dried berries.

The Lummi, and most of the other northwest coastal tribes included in the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855, were paid a total of $150,000 for their lands and paid an additional $15,000 in relocation costs and expenses. That would equate to over $4.2 million or approximately $840 per person in economic power in 2013 . The reservation has a land area of 54.378 km² (20.996 sq mi), which includes the Lummi Peninsula, and uninhabited Portage Island. The Lummi nation are the original inhabitants of the Puget Sound lowlands.

In pre-colonial times, the tribe migrated seasonally among many sites including Point Roberts, Washington, Lummi Peninsula, Portage Island, as well as sites in the San Juan Islands, including Sucia Island.

Many tribal members were Christianized in the late nineteenth century by the Catholic Oblate order.[2]

The traditional lifestyle of the Lummi, like many Northwest Coast tribes, consisted of collecting shellfish, gathering plants, such as camas and different species of berries and, most importantly, salmon fishing. The Lummi developed a fishing technique known as "reef netting." Reef netting was used for taking large quantities of fish in salt water. It's a practice that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife acknowledges as the original and best technique for selective fishing[3] Lummi had reef net sets on Orcas Island, San Juan Island, Lummi Island and Fidalgo Island, Portage Island and near Point Roberts and Sandy Point.[4] Following steady increases in the number of individuals and firms fishing in areas traditionally fished by the Lummi nation, the nation fought for and gained limited protection under the law for the right to fish in their traditional manner.[5]

From July 30 to August 4, 2007, the Lummi hosted their first potlatch since the 1930s, the Tribal Canoe Journeys Paddle to Lummi event. In a revival of traditional practice, 68 families paddled hand-made canoes to the Lummi Reservation from parts of Washington and British Columbia to celebrate the potlatch with other members.[6]

In 2017, the Lummi Nation declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of the 2017 Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break and were responsible for recapturing the bulk of the recovered escaped non-native farmed Atlantic salmon.[7]

Gateway Pacific Terminal
Main article: Gateway Pacific Terminal

The Gateway Pacific Terminal was a proposed coal export terminal at Xwe’chi’eXen (Cherry Point) in Whatcom County, Washington, along the Salish Sea shoreline. The project was objected to by Lummi people due to its potential impact on their treaty fishing rights and their sacred sites, and did not win approval.

Language
Main article: Lummi language

The Lummi language (Xwlemi Chosen, IPA: [xʷləmi tʃɔsən]) is a dialect of the North Straits Salish language.

Reservation population
Lummi woman, ca. 1907–1930, photograph by Edward S. Curtis

An estimated 6,590 people live on the Lummi Reservation. Roughly 2,564 are enrolled tribal members, and 665 are either related to or live with an enrolled tribal member. Some 3,361 are neither tribal members nor affiliated with any member of the Lummi Nation.

There are approximately 1,864 homes located on the reservation. Approximately 697 of these have an enrolled Lummi living in the home; thus, roughly 1,167 homes on the reservation do not house a tribal member. The 2000 census official record was 4,193 persons residing on the reservation, of whom 1,828 (43.6 percent) identified as whites, and 2,114 (50.4 percent) identified as of solely Native American ancestry.

Enrollees

As of April 2010 there are 4,483 enrolled tribal members. 49.6% are female and 50.4% are male.

Age distribution

The median age of tribal members is 29. Nearly one-third of the members, some 31.8%, are 18 years or younger. 11.6% are 55 or older.

Locations

According to studies conducted by the Lummi Nation either on or near the reservation boundaries, enrolled Lummi tribal members have an average household size of approximately 4.5 persons.

Workforce

A recent collaborative study conducted by the Lummi Nation and Northern Economics Inc. found the following information pertaining to the Lummi Nation workforce.

Education

Among enrolled Lummis aged 25–64: 15.1% do not have a high school diploma or a GED; 33.8% have either a high school or GED degree; 27.1% have some college experience; 14.9% have a two-year (AA or AS) degree; 7.5% have a bachelor's degree; and 1.6% have a graduate or professional degree.

Employment

61% of the adult population (ages 18–64) is employed. The labor workforce participation rate is 74%. The Lummi unemployment rate of about 25.1% is estimated to be three times the local average. The median monthly income for employed Lummi tribal members is approximately $2,000.

See also

References
Specific
  1. "A Sovereign Nation Stands Tall". Intercontinental Cry. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  2. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Lummi Indians" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. "Fishing & Shellfishing". Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. January 22, 2017.
  4. Microsoft Word - Boldt Decision8.5x11 layout for web.doc Archived 2006-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Ceely, Seth (2015). "Lummi Fishing Rights and the Law". The Apollonian Revolt. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  6. Lummi hosts largest potlatch in 70 years : ICT [2007/08/13]
  7. Rosenbaum, Cary (22 January 2018). "When Atlantic salmon escape in the Pacific, who cleans up? (Salmon on the lam)". High Country News. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
General

Further reading
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