Skilloot Topics – Access Genealogy

Skilloot Indians

Skilloot Indians were located on both sides of Columbia River above and below the mouth of Cowlitz River in present states of Oregon and Washington.

The Skilloot Indians, a Chinookan tribe encountered by Lewis and Clark in 1806, inhabited areas along the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon, with a population of around 2,500. They faced severe decline due to a fever epidemic in 1823 and had their principal village at Cooniac, near Oak Point, Washington. By 1850, their population had dwindled to about 200, and they eventually faded from prominence, with the Seamysty possibly representing a division of this tribe.