HISTORY PAGE

Traditional
Values:

As told
by Beatrice Charles, 1994

When I was a
child I lived at Pysht, Washington with my great-grandfather, Tim Pysht. In the
evenings we would sit by the fire. My younger brother, Ernie and I would sit at
our great-grandfather’s feet. There was a box of kindling nearby. He had his
pocket knife and he would be carving shavings that would curl up like a flower.
He’d carve both ends like this and then break it in half. They looked like
flowers. My brother and I would take turn handling him the kindling and putting
the flowers back in the kindling box. They were used to start a fire in the
morning. This was the time of day that he would teach us traditional Klallam
values in which to live by. He would also tell us stories and sing us songs.
I’m going to share with you some of the values I remember great grandpa Tim
Pysht taught me as a young girl.

1. 1.                 
   Always respect and help your elders.
2. 2.                 
   Honor your mother and father. (Don’t talk back
   to them.)
3. 3.                 
   Never fear death. (You were born to die.)
4. 4.                 
   If a child offered you something you take it
   with much praise. Because you’re teaching that child to be a giving person and
   not to be stingy.
5. 5.                 
   If someone made you angry, just turn around and
   walk away. Don’t answer back because you can’t swallow those bad words back.
6. 6.                 
   Never choose the biggest fruit, because you will
   always be hungry if you pick the biggest one. (Don’t be selfish, teach
   moderation.)
7. 7.                 
   Take care of and respect mother earth – take
   only what you need.

Fishing & Hunting, Weaving & Carving:

Fishing has always been a major source of food for the
Klallam; some of these fishy foods include spring, humpback, silver and two
varieties of dog salmon, steelhead, halibut, ling cod, flounder, herring,
smelts, and candlefish. Fishing was a year-round activity for the Klallam
people, but different types of fish were caught in particular seasons. Some
fish were caught in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but much of the salmon fishing
was done in the Elwha River. However, restrictions on tribal fishing rights
during the first part of the 1900’s severely limited the Tribe’s access to
fish. The landmark 1974 Boldt decision reaffirmed tribal fishing rights and the
Tribe was able to fish freely once again without fear of arrest. However, the
hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River still limit tribal fishing because they
stop salmon from traveling upriver. To help supplement the fish in the few
miles of river below the Elwha Dam, the Tribe built the Elwha Fish Hatchery in
1975. Most Klallam villages were located on the shores of a sheltered harbor
where the people could easily fish and harvest clams; their dried horse clams
were well-known and a valuable trading commodity. Behind Klallam villages were
richly forested areas that gave them access to deer, elk, and other animals.
Elk and deer provided the Klallam not only with food, but with hides to make
garments, moccasins, bags, and drums and with bones and antlers to make into
tools. The Klallam people would also, on occasion, hunt whales if they spotted
one close to the shore of their village. Unlike the Makah tribe they did not go
on extended whale hunting expeditions.

Traditionally weaving would be done to make things used in
everyday life, such as, hats, clothes, baskets, and mats. The Klallam word for
basket is məhuy’. Klallam knew how to make water proof baskets; they did so by
using the roots of a cedar tree and weaving them tightly together, and then
adding beeswax or pitch to make them water proof. Weavers could do all sorts of
things with cedar once it was ready. Other materials like cattails, bear grass,
sweet grass, and plant roots were also used to make different kinds of baskets
and mats. These materials were dyed with berries, roots, and other plants to
give color to the art. Today, Klallam people still weave all kinds of things.
Cedar and other materials are still used for clothing, baskets, and mats. But,
for special occasions, many people make or choose to wear cedar headbands,
hats, vests, and bracelets.

The skill of shaping wood, bone and stone into figures and
shapes, both real and mythological, was developed and mastered over thousands
of years, and is called carving or in Klallam qəʔx̣əyu. Special objects like
entrance poles, canoes, house posts, and grave markers were carved very
carefully. Entrance poles were tall wooden poles that stood in front of the
houses of very important people, only the main long house of a village would
have one in front of their house. Entrance poles had animals carved to tell the
story of that particular family and had a door (entrance) at the very bottom.
House posts hold up the house and have the same figures as the entrance pole.
Totem poles were carved to tell stories and the few Klallam masks that were
made were for religious ceremonies. Bone
was used for knives, combs, hammers, harpoon points and needles of all sizes.
Stone was used mostly for arrowheads, bowls, fish hooks and knives.

Historic Village Sites:

Klallam
Ceremonies; Longhouse, Potlatch, Button Blanket:

The Klallam
families had many celebrations to announce important events like, births,
marriages, or name giving. These types of celebrations are called Potlatches.
During a potlatch there is a lot of food and many speeches are made. The guests
sing and dance and at the end the hosts sing and dance. Potlatches also include
a giveaway to thank the guests for being witnesses at the event.

Traditionally,
potlatches were held in a long house. Long houses were made of cedar with cedar
house posts all around and were foremost a home. Because the potlatch was such
an important event people wore special clothing, such as button blankets. The
same family design found on the entrance poles was stitched into that family’s
button blankets. Regalia like button blankets are only found in tribes of the
North West and Canada, all the way up to Alaska.

Tse-Whit-Zen: Tse-whit-zen – Inner Harbor

Nestled in the crook of what is now Port Angeles Harbor, the
village of Tse-whit-zen (pronounced ch-WHEET-son)
flourished for over 2,700 years. The ancient village was one of many in the
Klallam territory, which stretched from the Hoko River on the Strait of Juan de
Fuca into the Hood Canal. The earliest confirmed settlement at the village site
dates back to 750 B.C. -- approximately the same time Rome was founded.

Buried for the last 100 years under layers of industrial
fill, the ancient village was recently re-discovered during a construction
project. As the story of Tse-whit-zen unfolded during the excavation, the
information unearthed confirmed many stories that had been passed down
throughout the years by Elders, included the long history of occupation on the
land at the heart of the harbor. However, Tse-whit-zen had some surprises in
store as well.

Rediscovering Tribal Roots

More than 10,000 artifacts discovered at the site have
challenged some misinformation about the Klallams and lead to the re-discovery
of tribal traditions that had been buried with Tse-whit-zen. For example,
tribal members erroneously believed that their ancestors did not follow
practices held by other Indian tribes, such as using traditional medicines or
wearing red ochre to invoke spiritual protection. Artifacts from Tse-whit-zen
disproved this and demonstrated that these practices belong to the Klallams as
well. For instance, many of the burial boxes that were unearthed were covered
with red ochre dust to protect the spirit of the departed.

Knowledge of other historic practices had been lost
throughout time as well. More than 800 etched stones were among the amazing
collection of artifacts collected at the site. Delicate lines etched onto each
stone tell a story; the carvings explain sacred teachings and may have been a
way to pass teachings on to future generations. When the stones were initially
discovered, knowledge of this practice had been lost and tribal members did not
know what the stones were. These, and many other artifacts are helping the
Klallam people gain a fuller understanding of their ancestors and their life at
Tse-whit-zen.

Even at this early stage in the analysis of the Tse-whit-zen
artifacts, the rich history of the village and the Klallam ancestors is
abundant. The Elwha Klallam Tribe plans to build a museum and interpretive
center near the site so that understanding of Klallam culture can be shared
with everyone.

Stories:

Two Deaf
Fishermen

As told by
the late Thomas Charles

It seems two deaf men were going fishing

They met.

Then one hollered,

“Where are you going?”

“Are you going fishing?”

The other one said,

“No, I’m going fishing.”

Again the first one spoke,

“Oh I thought you were going fishing.”

The Humming
Bird Story

As told to
Beatrice Charles, by her grandmother, Emma Elliot

A young Indian girl married a chief’s son of another village. The young
men of her village were jealous of him because she didn’t marry any one of
them. She and her husband had a beautiful son born to them, and they were very
happy.

But unhappiness came when her husband was killed by one of the jealous
young men of her village. Her son was in danger too, so she took her son away
and they lived in hiding.

She taught him all the things he should know to grow up to be a good,
honorable man. She taught him how to hunt and to fish. She taught him how to
use the bow and arrow.

He started by shooting little birds, little hummingbirds. He’d skin and
dry them, and he started to make himself a jacket. He sewed the skins with
feathers on them piece by piece. He was finished with it by the time he was a
young man.

One day, while wearing his jacket, he met up with an old man who was
drinking water at a river nearby where he and his mother lived. The old man
looked up and saw the young man. He said, “You have a beautiful jacket. I
really like it.”

The young man told him what it was made of, and that he had started
making it when he started hunting hummingbirds when he was a young boy.

When he finished his story the old man said, “It’s really beautiful,
but I’ll never own one because I’m old now, and it would take too long for me
to make one. I’ll die before I finish it.”

The young man thought for a while. Then he took off his jacket and put
it on the old man. “It’s yours, honorable old man. I can make myself another.”

The old man raised his hand and waved it before the young man, blessing
him and saying that he will live a long life and will prosper in everything
that he did.

The young man ended up going back to his father’s tribe and became
chief of that tribe.

So always respect your elders. They will bless you in return for your
kindness.

Mucus Boy*

A mother had seven boys and one girl. One day the sister got
lost and one by one the brothers disappeared in their attempts to find her. The
mother cried so hard that a baby was made of her mucus pooling on the
ground. He grew up and went into the woods, where he found the bodies of his
brothers. He found that his sister was a prisoner, married to a mountain lion.
When the lion hunted, he stuck her to a pitchy stump so she couldn't escape.
The sister had a baby that was two-faced. All the brothers came to rescue the
sister, but she warned them to leave, that the lion would kill them. When the
lion returned, the two-faced child would tell that a brother had come. The lion
would hunt down the brother and tear out his heart. When Mucus Boy came he made
sure he had stones covering his heart, so when the lion attacked, his nails got
bent and Mucus Boy killed him. He took his brothers hearts back and brought
them back to life. The brothers and sister all went back home. One day the
two-faced child got angry at the one who had saved them (Mucus Boy). The child
called him names and finally said, "Mucus." The man covered his face,
climbed to the sky, and was never seen again.

*This is one
of many versions of this story.

Nahkeeta

Many years have passed since Nahkeeta, a beautiful maiden, lived
in the Northern foothills of what are now known as the Olympic Mountains. 
Nahkeeta was a gentle girl greatly loved by her people. She was as
pretty and as graceful as the maidenhair ferns which grew in the forest.
Her voice was as cheerful and musical as the stream which flowed from the
waterfall not far from her home.  Her people were Klallams. They got
most of their food from the salt water and rivers. 

In the summer, after the salmon had been dried and stored for winter
use, the women gathered berries near the edge of the forest.  In the fall,
they went to openings in the forest to gather currants and roots and tiger lily
bulbs.  They almost never went back into the deep woods.  One day,
Nahkeeta was gathering berries with her mom and sisters. She wandered back into
the woods, enjoying the carpets of ferns, the moss wrapped logs, the moss
draped trees, and the yellow-green sunlight that just shimmers through the
forest.  After a while she realized that she wandered too far.  When
she turned around to go back, she found that she was lost.  She called to
her mother and sisters, but she knew that her voice was lost in the
bigness and tallness of the forest.  She tried to retrace her
steps.  Slowly the yellow green sunlight of the forest faded. 
Darkness came, Nahkeeta struggled on, often climbing over fallen logs and
getting tangled with the vines and ferns and small trees that grew from the old
moss covered trunks. At last, too weary and frightened to go farther, she
dropped down on the moss beside a log and fell asleep.

The next day her people searched for her, calling, "Nahkeeta"
over and over again.  There was no answer but the song of the wind in
the treetops and the murmur of the mountain streams.  For three days her
people looked for her. On the fourth day someone stumbled over a moss covered
log, beside it lay Nahkeeta's body.  Some wild animal had killed
her.  Grief filled the hearts of Nahkeeta's people as they buried her body
in a beautiful valley in the forest.  For days, mournful chants and
the sad wailing of women filled the air.  Now the Changer was
witnessing this sad event.  His heart was touched by the emotion
shown by the people.  One day when the people arose, they were surprised
to see a beautiful little lake, its blue green waters surrounded by white
barked alders. The lake covered the place where Nahkeeta was buried. 

Blackfish Story

As retold by Adeline Smith

This story was about a Klallam man, Pysht Jack, my Grandfather, named
“Yuwíntən”, during the turn of the century, when people helped each other. At the time he had this relative and she was
a widow with several children, so he always helped her. She caught a lot of fish and at that time,
Victoria was the only big city around, and most of the Indians traded over
there. So from over here, he brought
that woman and the weather was stormy, but not as bad as after they sold their
wares. When they decided to come back,
the storm really hit and they thought surely they were going to drown. The lady that was with him started praying
and chanting for the blackfish to come and help them. In those times, there were only certain
people who could speak to the blackfish.
She was the chosen one that could call upon the blackfish. It wasn’t very long, while she was
meditating, the blackfish all appeared and surrounded the boat that they were
on and brought them clear across over here, to the mouth of the Elwha
River. She thanked the blackfish and
then the blackfish left.

It is
always said by the Klallam people that the blackfish are our friends.

The Star Husbands

As told by Amy Allen

Translated by Bea Charles,
Adeline Smith, and Tim Montler

Two young women slept
in the evening. So they were looking at
the stars. One said, “Oh, that bright
shining one is the good kind. I wish it
was my husband.” The other one said,
“Oh, that one is better. He could be my
husband.” So they went to sleep.

Then those two came
after them. The two young women said,
“Where are you from?”

Those two men said,
“It’s me you were wishing for.”

“Oh, we can’t go. He’s very important, our father.”

“But it’s me you were
wishing for. You are going to come.”

So they gave up. They grabbed them and they were taken away up
into the sky. So they were
thinking. It was that very white star. His eyes were rotten. And the one that wasn’t so bright he had
better eyes. He wasn’t like the
other. They, the two young women, were
very dissatisfied with the men. Then
they looked for what they were going to do.

While they were out
walking, one of the girls sprained her ankle.
She took something, “What is it?”
She took something kind of folded or bent. And got that thing that was going
through. She said, “Oh, that’s where
they took us from when they grabbed us.
They brought us up to the sky.”

They went. One said, “Let’s make a rope.” So the girls worked and worked on the
rope. The men were working at something.

Day after day the two
girls worked on the rope. They finished
the work on the rope. Then they tied it
to a tree.

The older one said,
“Let me be the first to go down. And
when I get to the earth, I’ll start running.
And the rope will move back and forth.
Then you’ll know that I reached the ground. And then you can come dropping down.

The hands and legs of
those who dropped down were worn to the bone (by the friction of the
rope). So she finished dropping. And she ran.
And the younger one figured, “She must have reached the ground. Now it’s my turn to drop down.” So she went down.

The two got to the
ground. Then they walked.  The two girls walked. They were still walking like that when they
saw something like cute kittens.

The older one took
them. The younger one said, “This isn’t
a kitten. Throw it away. They’re like little…..little monsters.”

The other one said,
“They’re kind of cute little things. I
really like them.” So she tucked them
into her coat.

So they walked and
walked and walked. They were like
that. And her stomach started to
tickle. It had turned into a worm. She held it.

It wasn’t very long
and the older one fell dead. Now the
younger one was the only one walking.
She buried her sister at the beach. She buried her.

She was walking alone
looking for where to go. She got to some
houses.

So she went in. And told what happened to the other one.

Then she was
taken. And that’s where she was
kept. They took pity on her and kept
her. And that’s the story of the two
girls who should have known better.

The Old
Lady at the Dance

As told by
Ed Sampson Sr.

Translated
from the Klallam Language by Adeline Smith,

Bea
Charles, and Timothy Montler

When we first moved
here, came here to where we are today we had a white man’s style dance. They had it there at my late cousin, Wilson
Charles, house. There were lots of dancers
there—whites and Indians.

Once there was this
one white person. He wanted to go
outside and have a smoke. He wanted to
smoke so he went out behind the house where some small logs were piled up.

The white man faced
the pile of logs as he smoked. As his
eyes adjusted to the darkness, he suddenly realized that he saw a person
sitting. She was sitting on the little
logs.

So he went over near
her. He looked when he got near and saw
that she was a lady, an old lady. She
had a bandana on her head and her face was hidden by her hat.

So then the white man
put his head down and he peeked at the face of the old lady. He saw one like that seen before.   There was no face.   Just bone.

Then he didn’t turn to
walk. He walked backwards. Then he got inside and he took his hat and
coat. He ran outside over to his car on
the other side of the house.

He just ran squeezing
himself through the dancers. He ran
outside. He go to his car, got in, and
started it. He went back to town to his own
house. And then…

And that white man was
never seen again. He was really
scared He never came back. He never again came here to where we
are. He was so frightened that he never
came back here to where we are again.
And ah…

That’s one. One of those who saw the old lady with no
face.

The
Destruction of the Klallam Village at Pysht During the 1930’s

As told by
Edward Sampson 1992

Translated
by Beatrice Charles, Adeline Smith and Timothy Montler

When we were at the village of Pysht working on the logging, the
logging jobs ended. And there was no more work there again. And so we left our
homes and moved to Port Angeles.

Then the logging bosses tore down our houses. Our houses were torn down
and burned to nothing left of the Indians homes. Everything, our belongings
that were inside the houses, everything that was inside and didn’t get taken
out, that wasn’t brought to Port Angeles. All our belongings, water buckets,
beds, dishes, everything we owned. Our belongings and everything inside was
torn down by the bulldozer. Everything we owned.

We weren’t told by the logging bosses about our houses being torn down.
It was their own idea. We didn’t know what they were going to do. That’s the
way it is. We Indians have been treated badly by the white men.

Pysht was a very nice Indian village. That was our home. It was where
we were from. It was our land. And it was taken away by the white men, evil
white men.

Veterans Section:

Elwha Klallam Veterans

Your tribal Veterans representatives for the
Elwha Klallam tribe are:

Jerry
Charles: Phone: 360-457-5116 (c) 360-461-2035

                        Email:
gcharles@elwhahousing.com or jrc_redleg@hotmail.com

Joe
Turrey: Email: jturrey@tenforward.com

Veterans Info:

In order to contact a veteran representative
for the Elwha Klallam Tribe visit the veterans site at Veterans@elwha.nsn.us or call 36-457-5116

In order to get a copy of veteran records
write to

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Veterans Reps.

2851 Lower Elwha Rd.

Port Angeles, WA 98363

Military Records Facility

9700 Page Avenue

St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100

Phone: (800) 318-5298

At a minimum, please include the service
member’s complete name, SSI # , and/or serial number, and the requester’s
return address. Website is www.nara.gov/regional/stlouis.html

In order to locate former Klallam Veterans/
Soldiers, write a letter and send it to:

-Because of the Privacy Act 1974, the Tribe
is prohibited from releasing the last known address of former members without
their written consent. However, the Veterans Representatives will assist your
search by forwarding your letter to the service member’s last known address.

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Veterans Reps.

2851 Lower Elwha Rd.

Port Angeles, WA 98363

                                                                        OR

To find a soldier on active duty, go to www.army.mil/

To see if you (as a veteran) are eligible for
awards or to find information about awards refer to, www.perscom.army.mil/tagd/awards/index.htm

Many deployments and contingencies often result
in awards being approved. The site above gives a comprehensive look at the
process.

To obtain a copy of military records:

Medical records are maintained at one of 58
regional Veterans Administration (VA) centers around the country or at the
national Veterans Administration Records Management Center in St. Louis. Call
(800) 827-1000 for information on your regional VA center. The national VA
Records Management Office can be reached by calling (314) 263-2800.

To obtain historical operational information
about a particular Army unit:

The National Archives has historical
operational information on Army units. For military information preceding the
year 1941, please contact the National Archives One at (202) 501-5390. For
military information from 1942 or later, please contact the National Archives
Two at (301) 713-7250.

For research information on units
participating in various conflicts in military history:

There is a wealth of information on military
subjects in your library, or check the Center of Military History.

For information on retiree benefits:

Contact the local Army retirement services
office to get started. Also, the Veterans Administration provides a great deal
of assistance. Two websites of interest are: www.va.gov/ and www.acap.army.mil and retirement services at, www.odcsper.army.mil/retire/retire1.asp

If you are interested in joining the military
and want to see what kind of jobs you are eligible for:

Contact your local recruiter for information
about jobs, enlisting, commissioning, and bonuses for joining. Recruiters can
be contacted at, www.goarmy.com/ , www.navy.com or www.airforce.com .

ROLL CALL

IN MEMORY OF

Herb Bennett

Raymond Bennett

George Bolstrom

Elmer Charles

Ernest Charles

George Charles

Gilbert Charles

Harold Charles

Lavern L.
Charles

Murphey Charles

Ralph Charles

Patrick Enroth

Charles Francis

Martin Hopie
Jr.

Carl Hunter Sr.

Charles Johnson

William Johnson

Virgil Johnson
Sr.

Charles E. Mike
Sr.

John E. Mike

Issac Mike

Richard R. Mike

Charles M.
Sampson Sr.

Gordon Sampson

Wilbur R.
Sampson

Roy Smith Jr.

Jack Sullivan

James Sullivan

Howard Sullivan

Dale Williams

OUR LIVING
VETERANS

Kenneth Arakawa
Jr.

Mark Arakawa

Walter Bennett

Bruce L.
Bennett Sr.

Alfred B.
Charles Sr.

Donald Charles

Kenneth W. Charles

Gerald R.
Charles

Leo Charles Sr.

Leslie Charles

Phillip L.
Charles Jr.

Robert Harris

Russell Hepfer

Verna E.
Henderson

Roger Hopie Sr.

Stanley Johnson

Micheal
Langland

Juan Macias III

Wesley S.
Macias

Arnold Rhodes

Doreen Rhodes

Mark Romero

Charles Sampson
Jr.

Harold Sampson

Melvin Sampson
Sr.

Richard Sampson

William C.
Sanchez

Michael J.
Schleufer

Christina
Skerbech

Joseph A.
Turrey

Marvin Williams