Chinook
The Chinook proper (Lower Chinook) lived along the north bank of the Columbia River near its mouth and on the shores of present-day Willapa Bay in Washington, occupying one of the most resource-rich environments on the continent. They were the preeminent traders of the Pacific Northwest, and the Chinook trade jargon that bore their name served as the lingua franca of commerce from Alaska to California. Lewis and Clark encountered the Chinook in November 1805, finding them skilled canoe builders and shrewd negotiators already experienced in dealing with Euro-American maritime traders. The expedition noted their flattened-head cranial modification, elaborate cedar plank houses, and extensive use of salmon and wapato.
Biography
The Chinook people dominated the lower Columbia River and its estuary — one of the richest environments on the continent. They were master traders whose language became the basis for Chinook Jargon, the trade pidgin of the Pacific Northwest.
The expedition encountered the Chinook near the mouth of the Columbia in November 1805. Relations were generally cordial but sometimes tense, as the Chinook were experienced traders who drove hard bargains and the captains were frustrated by what they perceived as theft.
The Chinook economy was based on salmon, which they caught in enormous quantities and traded throughout the region. Their material culture — plank houses, ocean-going canoes, elaborate woodwork — impressed the expedition members, though Clark complained about fleas in the Chinook dwellings.
The Chinook, like many Pacific Northwest peoples, suffered catastrophic population decline in the early 19th century from introduced diseases, particularly the malaria epidemics of the 1830s.
