The Quileutes

the quileute tribe

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Barbara E. Caroline K. Rebecca S. 2nd1

Who are the Quileutes?

The Quileutes are Native Americans, living on a reservation, which is land that belongs to them and is under their control. Although the Quileute Nation looks like a small country with its own government, laws, police, and services, however, Quileutes remain US citizens and must obey American law. In the past, each Quileute village was led by two village chiefs or headmen, who were always high-ranking clan leaders. Today, the Quileute Indians are governed by a tribal council elected by all the people.

How to pronounce "Quileute"?

Quileute is pronounced "quill-ee-yoot." In the past it was often spelled "Quillayute" instead. It comes from the name of their tribal capital, Kwo'liyot, which is probably derived from the term kwoli, meaning 'wolves' in Quileute language.

Find out where do the Quileutes live...

The Quileute language

The Quileute language comes from the Chimakum language (which is another Native American Tribe). Nowadays, the Quileute language isn't spoken by alot of people because Quileute is a complicated language with very long words and many sounds that don't exist in English.

Today Quileute is an endangered language because most children aren't learning it anymore.

Since most Native American languages are disappearing, the preservation of the Quileute language has been an important mission.

Info

Food

Since the beginning, fishing was and still is an economic and cultural mainstay for the Quileute community The Quileute Indians were marine hunters and fishermen : they fished for salmon and trout and hunted seals, sea lions, as well as whales from their canoes. Moreover, hunting provides meat both for vital needs and for important ceremonies such as tribal leaders’ funerals. They hunted deer and birds, for example. Today, Quileute are authorized to hunt, fish and gather in traditional areas by the Treaty of Olympia of 1856.

Since the beginning, fishing was and still is an economic and cultural mainstay for the Quileute community. The Quileute Indians were marine hunters and fishermen : they fished for salmon and trout and hunted seals, sea lions, as well as whales from their canoes. Children were taught to fish at a very young age.They also hunted

Lifestyle

The Quileute tribe made canoes from cedar logs, they used these to travel up and down the sea coast for trading, fishing and hunting, and warfare. Quileute women did most of the child care and cooking, and they were the ones who also gathered plants, clams, herbs, shellfish, berries and roots. Children were taught to fish at a very young age. As well as many other tribes’ Native Americans, Quileute mothers traditionally carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs, which is a custom many American parents adopted. Men went to war if needed, to protect their family, often using bows, spears and wooden clubs. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. Only a man could be a Quileute chief, but clan leaders could be both men and women.

Art et handcrafts

Quileute artists are known for their fine basket weaving and sculptures, including wooden mask and totem carvings

Quileute Legends

Now, immerge yourself into the enchanting realm of Quileutes, where legends have been passed down through generations. Quileute people would sit by a warm and vivid campfire, where the leader of the tribe K’wati would tell them their stories, tales and legends, bringing back nostalgia...

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Thank You for your attention !

some sources

Sources

https://quileutenation.org/

https://americanindian.si.edu/

Native Languages of the Americas by Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis (website)

Fishermen, partly responsible of the tribe’s whole nutrition and who does abundant fishing, are protected from storms and mystical creatures by the Whale Brothers, once again holy figures praised by Quileutes. Each morning, to show their gratitude, they would perform the «Sunrise ceremony », in which all are reunited on the beach and facing the east coast, praying to the sun, asking for blessings and more spiritual protections, honoring their natural environnement.

There is this one particular folklore that inspired the Twilight saga, one that is often told to children when they are misbehaving, one that provokes chills and fear: The Apotamkins. Often refered to the ‘cold ones’ for their pale and ice cold skins, Apotamkins are seen as vampires, meaning dead bodies, which explains their skin parameters. Moreover, Quileutes describe them as they would feast on human and animal blood, giving them the strengh they need to seek down on more individuals.

The tribe has a deep connection with the surrounding nature, and more specifically with wolves, showing the knowledge that they have for their own land.Quileutes believe that the dense forest of theirs is secured by a wolf-like enchanted creature, known as the Guardian of the forest. Along with that, Quileutes rely their health on « Medecine men», spiritual guidances with extensive herbal knowledges who can cure them as fast as thunder.

And for the people who unfortunately passed away, they are transported to a very sacred spot by a «Spirit Canoe», a boat supposely made with the purest crystals found in their caves and which was rested on their local montain’s highest peak.

Believe it or not, the Quileutes were the descendents of the wolves who were changed into men. In fact, the tribal’s name « Quileute » itself etymologically comes from the word« Kwoli » which means ‘wolf’ in Native American. If you happened to watch Twilight movies, you are probably guessing that Quileute legends include vampires , also known as « the cold ones» who were chased down by werewolves. However, the concept is supposely only created for the movies’ plot, so it doesn’t actually take part of the legend!..but we’ll take a glimpse at a very similar one.

some sources...

ynativeamericaninfo.org"the Quileute legends" by Yoko Mia Hirano the "Twilight" saga by Stephanie Meyer

Mission : keep the language

To keep this language alive, the Quileute Tribal School uses grant funding and interviews with elders (Quileute Tribe members) who also contributed in the development of books and are considered as a vital cultural resource for the tribe.

The Tribal Council is encouraging the use of Quileute words and phrases in everyday village life. In the Second Edition of the Quileute Dictionary, you can see how much effort are put into saving the language :

[In 2007], the Tribal Council set up a two-year Quileute Revitalization Project with the goal of encouraging the use of Quileute words and phrases in everyday village life. A basic vocabulary of greetings, questions, numbers, names of things, and ‘one-liners’ in Quileute were made available to tribal members and staff through informal classes, email, and computer CDs.

The Quileute Tribe is located in La Push, Washington, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The Quileute Tribe has lived and hunted in this area for thousands of years. Although the village of La Push is only about one square mile (about 2,59 square kelometers , the Tribe’s original territory stretched along the shores of the Pacific from the glaciers of Mount Olympus to the rivers of the rain forests.