Nuwhaha

Nuwhaha
dxʷʔaha
Total population
merged into the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and the Samish Indian Nation
Regions with significant populations
Washington
Languages
Lushootseed
Religion
Indigenous religion
Related ethnic groups
Other Lushootseed-speaking peoples, such as the Upper Skagit peoples; Samish people, Nooksack people

The Nuwhaha (noo-WAH-hah; Lushootseed: dxʷʔaha)[1] were a historical Lushootseed-speaking people in the Skagit River valley of Washington. The Nuwhaha primarily lived along the Samish River, as well as the coastal areas between Bay View and Bellingham.

The Nuwhaha were a powerful and warlike people, but smallpox epidemics devastated them in the 18th and 19th centuries. Eventually, they were pushed inland by wars with the Samish people. In 1855, the Nuwhaha were a signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott.

Today, Nuwhaha descendants are members of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe,[2][3] Swinomish Indian Tribal Community,[4] and the Samish Indian Nation.[5] Descendants of one Nuwhaha man, George Bob, are enrolled in the Nooksack Indian Tribe.[6] Although there is no distinct Nuwhaha entity today, some Nuwhaha descendants enrolled in federally recognized tribes still maintain their traditional identity as Nuwhaha.[5]

  1. ^ Bates, Hess & Hilbert 1994, p. 4.
  2. ^ "Who We Are". Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  3. ^ Lane 1985, p. 2.
  4. ^ Sampson 1972, p. 26.
  5. ^ a b Ruby, Robert H.; Brown, John A.; Collins, Cary C. (2010). A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Civilization of the American Indian. Vol. 173 (3rd ed.). Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 168. ISBN 9780806124797.
  6. ^ Lane 1985, p. 5.