Elwha Klallam Historical Timeline

​1700 – 1799

  • 1700 – An estimated 9 magnitude earthquake in Pacific Northwest causes a tsunami in Japan.
  • 1782 – Small pox epidemic
  • 1787 – Strait of Juan de Fuca named by Charles Barkley
  • 1788 – Robert Duffin encounters Klallam Indians at Discovery Bay.
  • 1789 – Robert Gray reaches Clallam Bay
  • 1790 – Spanish Explorer, Manuel Quimper lands at Freshwater Bay and Dungeness
  • 1791 – Port Angeles named, Nuestra Senora de los Angeles by Juan Francisco de Eliza Spanish military post established at Discovery Bay
  • 1792 – George Vancouver explores the Olympic Peninsula

1800 – 1852

  • 1804 – Lewis and Clark Expedition begins
  • 1819 – Spain surrenders claim to Pacific Northwest
  • 1824 – Russia surrenders claim to Pacific Northwest
  • 1828 – The Hudson’s Bay Company launches punitive expedition against the Klallam
  • 1833 – Nisqually House records show evidence of Klallams trading
  • 1841 – Wilkes explores Puget Sound and reports potatoes being grown by Port Discovery Klallam
  • 1842 – Mass migration of white settlers begins along the Oregon Trail
  • 1843 – James Douglas establishes Fort Victoria
  • 1846 – Establishment of 49th parallel
  • 1847 – Paul Kane documents visit to Ennis Village site in Port Angeles
  • 1848 – Measles and dysentery epidemic
  • 1850 – Donation Land Act of Oregon
  • 1851 – First settlers in Port Townsend
  • 1852 – Settlement of Dungeness area begins at Whiskey Flats

1853 – 1899: Treaty Era, a time of tremendous change and loss

  • ​1853 – Washington Territory established. The Appropriation Act authorized the President of the United States to negotiate with Indian tribes to extinguish title to their lands so that citizens of the U.S. could settle these lands.
  • 1855 – Point No Point Treaty signed on January 25th by Governor Isaac Stevens and representatives of the S’Klallam, Skokomish and Chemakum Tribes. Gibbs’ census shows 926 Klallams. The Elwha Klallams and villages are named in the Treaty and it constitutes federal recognition of the Tribe.
  • 1857 – 1859 – First settlers in Port Angeles
  • 1856 – 1857 – Indian war, Puget Sound Indians fought for suitable land base
  • 1858 – Gold was discovered in Frazer River causing the population to swell
  • 1859 – Congress ratifies the Point No Point Treaty on March 8.
    – Small pox epidemic.
    – Micheal Simmons recommended that the Clallams be allowed a reserve at Clallam Bay.  It was not approved.
  • 1862 – Smallpox epidemic Census shows 1,300 Klallams. Many Klallams from Port Angeles move over to Beecher Bay
  • 1863 – Ethnographer, George Gibbs documented Klallam historic information. Port Angeles land sale
  • 1871 – End of treaty making with U.S. government and Tribes
  • 1874 – Amendment to Homestead Act to extend to Indians.
    – James Balch purchased 210 acres so the 140 Clallams could live at Jamestown.
    – Many Klallams at Port Gamble and Elwha took up Indian Homesteads.  At Elwha there were 10 homesteads on the Elwha River, Deep Creek and Pysht totaling over 1,300 acres
  • 1872 – An effort to create a reservation on Ediz Hook failed to pass.
  • 1875 – Small pox epidemic
  • 1878 – Census show 597 Klallams
  • 1879 – Dysentery, fever, phthisis, scrofula and syphilis are among the most common illnesses among Coast Indians
  • 1880 – Chemawa Indian School Starts
  • 1881 – Lung disease, measles and scarlet fever break out
  • 1882 – Origin of Shaker Religion
  • 1883 – Population of Port Angeles grew
  • 1884 – Indian Homestead Act
  • 1885 – Shaker Church in Jamestown
  • 1887 – General Allotment Act
    – Reverend Myron Eells wrote about the Klallam
    – Port Angeles population over 600
  • 1889 – Washington becomes 42nd State
  • 1890 – Influenza epidemic
  • 1893 – Last Klallam secret society initiation held in Port Angeles

1900 – 1999: Self Governance, A time to rebuild

  • 1906 – Burke Act, 25 year trust status on allotted lands removed
  • 1910 – Construction begins on the Elwha Dam. Fishing laws and regulation exclude Klallam from fishing
  • 1911 – Quinault opened for allotment but the Klallams refused to relocate
  • 1912 – Elwha Dam breaks
  • 1913 – Edward S. Curtis, recorded Klallam language and songs
  • 1914 – Construction of the Elwha Dam completed
  • 1916 – The State of Washington ruled that off-reservation fishing was subject to state control.  After this ruling the Indians were arrested for fishing.
  • 1918 – Flu epidemic hits Port Angeles
  • 1920 – Anthropologist, T.T. Waterman wrote extensively about the Klallam.
    – Small pox epidemic
  • 1924 – Indian Citizenship Act passes
  • 1925 – Construction begins on the Glines Canyon Dam
  • 1927 – Erna Gunther, wrote ‘Klallam Ethnography’
  • 1930 – There were still over 30 Klallam families living on Ediz Hook
  • 1933 – Relocation of families off of Ediz Hook
  • 1934 – Indian Reorganization Act passed by Congress to provide new form for organization of tribal governments and for federal acquisition of land in trust for tries.
    – Johnson O’Malley Act
  • 1935 – Anthropologist, William W. Elmendorf recorded Klallam language and history
  • 1935(6)  – A reservation for the Elwha Klallam Tribe is established with 372 acres at the mouth of the Elwha River
  • 1939 – Port Gamble becomes Federally Recognized
  • 1942 – Linguist, John Peabody Harrington, recorded Klallam over 250 place names
  • 1951 – Anthropologist, Wayne Suttles recorded Klallam language and history
  • 1953 – Indian Claims Commission established. Way to pay off Indian claims with no option for return of lands.
    – Termination Act
    – Anthropologist, Leon Metcalf recorded Klallam language and history
  • 1959 – Ethnomusicologist, Willard Rhodes recorded Klallam music and language
  • 1964 – 1971 – Linguist, Laurence and Terry Thompson recorded extensively Klallam language and history
  • 1966 – National Historic Preservation Act amended
  • 1968 – In a special election called by Secretary of Interior under authority of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, tribal members vote to approve Constitution and Bylaws for the Lower Elwha Community (also known as the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe). Secretary approved Constitution and Bylaws. Also under authority of Indian Reorganization Act, Secretary proclaims the Tribe’s trustlands at the mouth of the Elwha River to be the Lower Elwha Indian Reservation.
    – Indian Civil Rights Act
    – Amendments to Public Law 280
  • 1972 – The Elwha Klallam Tribe participated with other Washington State tribes in a lawsuit filed against the State of Washington, U.S. v. Washington, to regain their fishing rights.
  • 1974 – Boldt decision in U.S. vs. Washington upholds tribal fishing rights
    Anthropologist, Dr. Wayne Suttles has written extensively about the Klallams
  • 1975 – Construction of a Community Center, Fish Hatchery and Group Home on the Elwha Klallam Reservation
    – Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
  • 1976 – Anthropologist, Mark Fleisher recorded Klallam language
  • 1977 – Manis mastadon site discovered
    – Indian Claims Commission makes payment for lands (750,000 acres) to the three Klallam bands each received $100,000 from the Point No Point Treaty of 1855
  • 1978 – American Indian Religious Freedom Act
    Indian Child Welfare Act
  • 1978 – 1980 Linguist Timothy Montler recorded Klallam language
  • 1979 – The Boldt Decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court
  • 1981 – Jamestown becomes Federally Recognized
  • 1985 – Linguist, Steven Egesdahl recorded Klallam language
  • 1989 – Army Corps of Engineers builds a flood control dike to protect the valley from the Elwha River flooding
  • 1988 – Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, to provide for Tribal Gaming
    – Self Determination expanded
  • 1989 – Centennial Accord between Washington State and Tribes signed
    – Paddle to Seattle takes place as part of the Washington State Centennial
  • 1990 – Amendments to the Native American Language Act
    – Native American Graves Protection and repatriation Act
    – The Indian Arts and Crafts Act
  • 1991 – Anthropologist, Jackilee Wray recorded Klallam history
    Jamestown and Port Gamble becomes self-governance tribes
  • 1992 – Klallam Language Program starts
    – Amendments to National Historic Preservation Act
    – Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act
    – Elwha Klallam Tribe becomes a self- governance tribe
  • 1993 – Religious Freedoms Restoration Act
    Governor Lowry signs gaming compact
  • 1994 – Judge Rafeedie upholds right to shellfish
    – Self-Governance becomes permanent law
    – Memorandum on Government to government Relations
  • 1996 – Executive Order 13007 protects sacred sites on Federal lands

2000 – present: Cultural Revival, a time of renewal

  • 2000 – Federal government acquires Elwha River dams​
  • 2003 – Construction begins on the Port Angeles dry dock uncovering ancient Klallam village of Tse-whit-zen.
    – First Peoples Language Bill passes
  • 2004 – Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian opens
  • 2005 – History and Culture Bill passes
  • 2005 – Elwha Klallam Tribe hosts Paddle to Elwha canoe journey.  Over 70 canoes and over 5000 participants arrive
  • 2006 – Tribe reaches settlement with the state over Tse-whit-zen
    –  JARPA Completed and Submitted to appropriate agencies for approval.
  • 2007 – Tribe & the City of Port Angeles sign a wastewater agreement.
    – First request for bids for the Port Angeles Water Treatment Facility released.
  • 2008 – Contract Awarded for the Elwha Surface Water Intake Facility.
  • 2009 – Stratton Road Modifications Completed
    – Contract Rewarded for Tribal Hatchery Construction
  • 2010 – Contract for Levee Construction Awarded
    – Contract awarded for Wastewater Construction
  • 2011 – Dam Removal
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