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
