Quileute Legends | Folklore | Myths | Stories

Many people think that tribes exist in most parts of Africa but very few know that there is a tribal community in US capital, Washington DC. The Quileute, also known as Quillayute are the Native American people in Western part of Washington DC. The Quileute people settled in Washington in 1855 after signing a Quinault treaty. The Quileute have their own reservation who’s main population centre is the community of La Push, Washington. The population of this tribe is around 350 and they have their own government inside United States with a tribal council. The tribe has 640 acres reservation which lies in the mouth of Quillayute River in La Push which is encompassed by Olympic national park rainforest.

The Quileute dialect belongs to the Chimakuan family of languages. The Chimakum were the only other people to speak a language from this language family. The highlight of this language is that it lacks the nasal sounds (such as m and n). The tribe are still trying to hold the legacy of this language by teaching it in tribal schools. Like many Northwest coast natives, Quileute hunted sea mammals and fished for their living. They were highly talented in building boats and canoes. They made canoes for whaling, which could hold many tons of cargo and men. Apart from that they also made long dog hair into warm blankets, wove fine baskets which can hold water and made waterproof skirts and hats.

History quotes that a supernatural transformer fashioned the Quileute from wolves. Quileute believed in supernatural powers. The young people would go on a quest to find their supernatural power. They would perform the first salmon ceremony to ensure salmon spirit’s good will. They personally believe that each person is a guardian to himself, along with the sun and universe.

Quileute people remained isolated from other Native Americans. In 1775 when a Spanish explorers missed their landing, Quileute people took them as slaves and from then on Europeans termed them as ‘vicious’. They also shipwrecked the British and Russian ships in 1787 and 1808. In 1882, A.W.Smith started teaching the native children to educate the people. He also made a school and changed the people’s tribal names to the once in bible. In February 1889, the president gave Quileute tribe at La Push, the reservation. Unfortunately, in 1889, a settler set fire on all the houses on the reservation for the want of the land.

The story about the Quileute tribe has been written in many fiction books such as ‘Spirit Quest’ by Susan Sharp, ‘Saving Cascadia’ by John J. Nancy and the famous book called ‘Twilight series’. The Twilight Book pinpoints to Quileute tribe who transform themselves into spirit Wolves. Nearby Quillayute is a city called Forks, Washington which is a popular destination for tourists for sports fishing. Apart from that La Push also holds beautiful resorts, fish hatchery, seafood firm and even a small museum. Quileute day is staged in the mid of July which combines with a tribal celebration featuring salmon bake and arts and crafts display. This place can be an ideal place to enjoy your vacation.