Snohomish (tribe)

The Snohomish are a Lushootseed Native American tribe who reside around the Puget Sound area of Washington, north of Seattle. They speak the Lushootseed language. The tribal spelling of their name is Sdoh-doh-hohbsh, which means "wet snow" according to the last chief of the Snohomish tribe, Chief William Shelton. Some commentators believe a more accurate spelling in the Latin alphabet would be Sdohobich, while others think Snohomish is correct.

Historians have debated the meaning of the name. Some believe it means "a style of union among those of the brave", while others interpret it as "Sleeping Waters." Other possible meanings include "a large number of people" and even "a warrior tribe." Sometimes known as The Lowland People, the Snohomish have also been referred to as the Sinahomish (or Sneomuses).

Fishermen, hunters, and gatherers, the Snohomish formerly lived near the mouth of the Snohomish River, a Puget Sound tributary north of today's Marysville, on the southern tip of Camano Island, on Whidbey Island opposite today's city of Mukilteo, and along the Snohomish River as far east as today's town of Monroe.

Among the Snohomish subdivisions in those locations, there were the Sdohobcs of the lower Snohomish River and Whidbey Island and the Sdocohobcs on the Snohomish River between Snohomish and Monroe. Other subdivisions were the N'Quentlamamishes (or Kwehtlamamishes) of the Pilchuck River. Today the river, the city, and a county all bear their name.

In 1844, the Snohomish numbered 322. A decade later, their population was 350, indicating that a smallpox plague of the time probably did not affect them as much as it did other Native Americans of the Puget Sound area. In the 1980 census, there were 700 Snohomish, but by 2008 people identifying as Snohomish had increased to 1,200.

When the Snohomish encountered the Hudson's Bay Company trader John Work in December 1824, they feared his party had come to attack them. They had long been in conflict with other tribes, such as the Clallams of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Cowichans of southeastern Vancouver Island. Once they realized the traders were friendly, a Snohomish warrior demonstrated how to kill the Cowichans, if they attacked. The Snohomish were among the tribes that traded at the Hudson's Bay Company Fort Nisqually, established in 1833 at the southern tip of Puget Sound. They also met Roman Catholic missionaries who entered their lands in the early 1840s. At the time of these contacts, the Snohomish were governed by headmen, each leader having influence over several villages.

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