Chinookans of the Lower Columbia River

expand_more Description

The term "Chinookans of the Lower Columbia River" is a reference to the group of Chinookan language speakers living on the northwest coast of the United States in the states of Washington and Oregon and on both banks of the Lower Columbia River from its mouth to just beyond the Willamette River. The group consists of the Chinook proper, the Clackamas, Clatsop, Shoalwater Chinook, Wahkiakum, and Cathlamet (Kathlamet). Chinookan is a branch of the Penutian phylum of languages, and is divided into Upper and Lower Chinookan (Upper Chinookan is treated as a different group of cultures). The villages consisted of both permanent winter villages and temporary summer camps. Each village had its own chief whose status and prestige varied within the area. Hunting, fishing, and gathering were the primary subsistence activities of the Chinookans.

Identifier

Region

• North America

Subregion

• Northwest Coast and California

Subsistence Type

• hunter-gatherers

Samples

• EA
• SRS

Countries

• United States

External Links

• Lower Chinook (Binford Hunter-Gatherer) D-PLACE
• Lower Chinook (Ethnographic Atlas) D-PLACE
• Lower Chinook (Western North American Indian database) D-PLACE