The Clackamas Indians are a tribe of Native Americans of the U.S. state of Oregon who traditionally lived along the Clackamas River in the Willamette Valley.
By 1855, the 88 surviving members of the tribe were relocated to Grand Ronde, Oregon, first to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation; later they blended in the general population.
Descendants of the Clackamas belong to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.
Like others of the Chinookan tribes, they practiced head flattening. From infancy the head was compressed between boards, thus sloping the forehead backward.
They are the technical owners of the Willamette Meteorite.
Language
The now-extinct language spoken by the Clackamas is also known as Clackamas, and is one of the Chinookan languages, specifically a variety of Upper Chinook. It is closely related to the still-living (but highly endangered) Wasco-Wishram language, which is another variety of Upper Chinook.
A number of toponyms around the Columbia River derive from Clackamas, notably:
- Various places called Clackamas themselves;
- Various places called Willamette.
See also
Other Chinookans of the lower Columbia River:
External links
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009) |
- On the Clackamas people
- more on the Clackamas people
- National Geographic on the Clackamas Indians
- On the Willamette Meteorite
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