What’s the difference?
Chinookan describes all the Chinook-speaking people who reside along the great (Columbia) river, and the Chinook-speaking people from the Pacific coastal beaches from Tillamook Head to Willapa Bay.Chinookan peoples include, not only the Chinook Indian Nation, but the Grand Ronde, Warm Springs and Yakima Tribes too.
The Chinook Indian Nation is made up of the five western-most Chinookan speaking tribes at the mouth of the Columbia River and neighboring seacoast. Our nearly 70-year-old constitution clearly defines who we are by naming the five tribes and referencing their associated aboriginal territories. Our membership is drawn from these tribes — the Clatsop and Cathlamet (Kathlamet) of present-day Oregon and the Lower Chinook, Wahkiakum and Willapa of what is now known as Washington State.
The Chinook Indian Nation’s territory includes the entire lower Columbia River from near Oak Point (just west of Longview, WA) to the mouth of the river. Our territory includes much of Clatsop and Columbia Counties in Oregon, and Pacific and Wahkiakum counties in Washington State.
Representing approximately 3,000 enrolled tribal members, most living in Washington and Oregon, we are the stewards of our territory on the Lower Columbia River.
