Chinook Indian Research

Chinook Indians (from Tsinúk, their Chehalis name). The best-known tribe of the Chinookan family. They claimed the territory on the north side of Columbia River, Wash., from the mouth to Grays bay, a distance of about 15 miles, and north along the seacoast as far as the north part of Shoalwater bay, where they were met by the Chehalis, a Salish tribe. The Chinook were first described by Lewis and Clark, who visited them in 1805, though they had been known to traders for at least 12 years previously. Read more about Chinook History

Chinook Indian Biographies

• Native American Biographies
• Chinook Chiefs
• Chief Comcomly and Chief Coboway  (hosted at The Columbia River)
• Celiast and Ilchee

Bureau of Indian Affairs

• A Guide to Tracing your Indian Ancestry(PDF)
• Tribal Leaders Directory
• Recognized Indian Entities, 10/2010 Update (PDF)

Chinook Indian Cemeteries

• Comcomly’s Tomb (hosted at Discovering Lewis & Clark)
• Indian Cemetery Records

Chinook Indian Census

• Free US Indian Census Rolls 1885-1940
• Indian Census Records
• Indians in the 11th (1890) Census of the United States
• US Indian Census Schedules 1885-1940

Chinook Indian Culture/Customs

• Chinookan Culture (hosted at The Virtual Meier Site)
• Chinookan Material Culture
• Village Life
• Longhouse Tradition

Federal and State Recognized Tribes

• Chinook Indian Nation  (Clatsop, Cathlamet, Wahkiakum, Willapa, Lower Chinook)
  P.O. Box 368 or 3 E. Park Street
  Bay Center, WA 98527
• Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
  201 S.E. Swan Avenue or P.O. Box 549
  Siletz, OR 97380
  • Our History
  • Historical Photos
  • Original Reservation Boundary
  • Ancestral Tribes and Homelands
  • Enrollment

Genealogy Help Pages

• Proving Your Indian Ancestry
• Indian Genealogy
• DNA- Testing for your Native American Ancestry
• How to Write a Genealogical Query

Chinook Indian History

• Chinookan Indian Family History
  • Chinook Indian History
  • Chinook Indian Chiefs and Leaders
  • Chinook Indians
• Wasco Indian History
• Chinook Indians (hosted at PBS)
• Winter on the Pacific (hosted at National Graphic)
• Who’s Who (hosted at TrailTribes)
• Puget Salish
  • Salish People of Washington

Chinook Indian Land and Maps

• Indian Reservation History
• Location and Environment  (hosted at The Virtual Meier Site)
• Since Time Immemorial (hosted at TrailTribes)
• Territory of the Lower Chinook
• Wilkes 1841 Map of the Oregon Territory

Chinook Indian Language

• Sign Language Among North American Indians
• Salishan, Sahaptian, and Chinookan
• Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon or Trade Language of Oregon

Chinook Indian Legends and Stories

• Chinook Creation Legend
• Bluejay Finds a Wife
• Coyote builds Willamette fails and the Magic Fish Trap (hosted at First People)
• Ioi and the Ghost Husband

Mailing Lists

• NA-NEWBIES – A mailing list for anyone new to Native American Research, all Tribes and Nations.
• NATIVEAMERICAN-CHIEFS – A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the chiefs of the Native American tribes/nations in the United States. Stories or history of Chiefs in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean are also welcome.
• INDIAN TRIBES-LOCATION, One for each state.  Ask questions to find the location of your ancestors
• INDIAN CEMETERIES, A place to share the location or transcriptions of Indian Cemeteries
• INDIAN ROLL LIST, List for each of the Indian Rolls, discussion on each of the rolls

Chinook Indian Military

• Indian Wars, Conflicts and Disturbances 1614-1893
• Indians Who Served in the War (WWII)
• Native American Medal of Honor Recipients (hosted at US Army Center of Military History)
• Native Americans Mustered into Service of the US, War of 1812 (hosted at Rensselaer County NYGenWeb)

Other Tribes

The list of tribes and organizations below are not federally recognized. Many of them are state recognized organizations only or working towards federal recognition. We will provide a listing for any Native American organization or tribe.  If you would like your organization listed please submit the information here.

Schools

• Indian Schools, Seminaries and Asylums

Chinook Indian Treaties

• Indian Affairs, Laws & Treaties, Vol. 2  $
  As the United States expanded westward from the original thirteen colonies, settlers often confronted the existing owners of the land. As a result the federal government often negotiated treaties with these Native Americans. This collection of official treaties was compiled by the United States and originally printed in 1904. (Subscribers Only) Free Trial – Ancestry.com US Deluxe Membership
• Indian Treaties, Acts and Agreements
• Signers of Native American Treaties, Indian, Military and Guests

Chinook Indian Suggested Reading

Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon or Trade Language of Oregon – Free
Some years ago the Smithsonian Institution printed a small vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon, furnished by Dr. B. R. Mitchell, of the U.S. Navy, and prepared, as we afterwards learned, by Mr. Lionnet, a Catholic priest, for his own use while studying the language at Chinook Point. It was submitted by the Institution, for revision and preparation for the press, to the late Professor W.W. Turner. Although it received the critical examination of that distinguished philologist, and was of use in directing attention to the language, it was deficient in the number of words in use, contained many which did not properly belong to the Jargon, and did not give the sources from which the words were derived.

The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River (Civilization of the American Indian) $
The Chinook Indians, who originally lived at the mouth of the Columbia River in present-day Oregon and Washington, were experienced traders long before the arrival of white men to that area. When Captain Robert Gray in the ship Columbia Rediviva, for which the river was named, entered the Columbia in 1792, he found the Chinooks in an important position in the trade system between inland Indians and those of the Northwest Coast. The system was based on a small seashell, the dentalium, as the principal medium of exchange.

Chinook Indians (Native Americans (Heinemann Paperback)) $
Find out how Chinook Indians fished, hunted, and gathered food in the past. Learn about the clothes they wore and the homes they lived in. Read about the events Chinook people still celebrate today. In this book you will read about the shells that Chinooks used for money, discover how they used dogs to hunt, see how the Chinook people make canoes.