The Coast Salish lived for 14,000 years on San Juan Island. Why did they disappear?

The Coast Salish Collapse on San Juan Island

San Juan Island was once the “center of the universe” for Coast Salish peoples who lived there for 14,000 years. Their world fell apart in just 75 years.

Three waves of smallpox – in 1782, 1830, and the 1850s – swept through villages with no mercy. Meanwhile, northern tribes armed with European guns raided Coast Salish homes, killing residents and taking slaves.

By 1840, ancient winter villages stood empty, with survivors fleeing to safer ground. A staggering 80-90% of the population vanished.

Today, San Juan Island National Historical Park preserves this haunting story where visitors can still walk the lands that witnessed this devastating collapse.

San Juan Island Was Once “The Center of the Universe”

People lived on San Juan Island for at least 14,000 years, with permanent villages going back 9,000 years.

Lummi stories tell how the first man, swet’an, came down from heaven near today’s Garrison Bay. The kale’gamis people called this sacred spot “the center of the universe. “

These folks later formed the Lummi, Saanich, and Songhees tribes. Coast Salish people created unique reef-net fishing methods nobody else in the world used.

Families Followed Ancient Seasonal Patterns for Thousands of Years

Coast Salish people moved with the seasons in set patterns. Women dug camas bulbs in spring while men fixed fishing nets.

Summer brought families to fishing camps on the southwest side of the island for salmon. Large cedar longhouses kept extended families warm during winter.

This way of life fed thousands of people across many winter village sites throughout the San Juan Islands for countless generations.

Smallpox Arrived Before Most Europeans Did

Smallpox first hit in the early 1770s, likely from Spanish ships exploring the coast. The disease spread quickly through people with no immunity.

Two or three Lummi villages in the San Juan Islands almost disappeared. Many who lived moved to mainland areas, breaking thousands of years of ongoing island life.

European Crews Noticed Scars on Survivors’ Faces

George Vancouver and his crew in the 1790s wrote about widespread smallpox scarring and partial blindness among Coast Salish groups they met.

Lewis and Clark also noted signs of a smallpox outbreak from decades earlier among coastal tribes in 1806.

European explorers kept seeing pockmarks on older native people for decades. Local healers couldn’t treat this new disease, and group healing gatherings spread it faster.

Another Deadly Wave Killed Two-Thirds of Survivors

In 1782, another smallpox outbreak swept through, killing two-thirds of the Stó:lō people. This second wave showed how these diseases kept coming back as new children grew up without immunity.

Traditional healing methods like sweat baths followed by cold water plunges often caused shock or pneumonia. People burned the belongings of those who died, which helped slightly but couldn’t stop the overall damage.

Northern Warriors Swam Oceans And Started Raiding

From the 1810s through 1850s, Coast Salish groups faced attacks from northern peoples, especially the Haida, Tongass, and Tsimshian.

These northern tribes got European guns earlier through trading, giving them a big advantage. Raiders came south to steal goods, destroy villages, kill people, and take prisoners to sell as slaves.

They wanted slaves and valuable items, not revenge or land.

Malaria Struck Just as Communities Tried to Recover

Malaria hit hard in the 1830s, possibly killing more people than the first smallpox outbreak. The worst spread from 1830-1834 in low-lying swampy areas with infected mosquitoes.

This sickness caused social breakdown and cultural losses. During this time, winter villages started emptying as populations shrank too much to keep up traditional living patterns.

Winter Villages Stood Empty as People Sought Safety

By 1840, San Juan Island’s winter villages sat mostly empty because of disease and northern raids.

Lummi and Samish tribal members still came back for summer fishing each year but didn’t stay. Survivors spent fall and winter in safer villages on the mainland or Vancouver Island.

The islands changed from centers of community life to dangerous places people only visited to gather food.

Smallpox Bay Got Its Name From a Tragic Quarantine

The 1853 smallpox outbreak swept through the lower Columbia River area, killing half the Native people there.

During the 1862 outbreak, sick Haida people were forced to move to San Juan Island where they died at a place now called Smallpox Bay.

This sickness spread after thousands of sick natives got kicked out of Victoria. The 1862 outbreak ended northern raids as smallpox hit the northern nations too.

The Treaty of Point Elliott Pushed Natives Off Their Land

The 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott forced all Indians to move to set aside reservations, but many San Juan Island natives weren’t included in the deal.

Despite these rules, a small group with mostly Lummi/Samish roots kept a fishing village at Mitchell Bay. Their ancestors used this area for countless generations for seasonal homes, fishing, and gathering food plants.

Government officials didn’t seem very interested in removing people.

Mitchell Bay Band Refused to Disappear

An estimated 80-90% of the Coast Salish population died between 1782-1857.

The Mitchell Bay Band descendants stayed on San Juan Island even without federal recognition or treaty rights. This small community kept fishing in traditional ways and worked to preserve their culture.

In 1919, Office of Indian Affairs agent Charles Roblin officially documented them as the Mitchell Bay Tribe, acknowledging their continued presence on their ancestral lands despite the overwhelming odds against them.

Visiting San Juan Island National Historical Park, Washington

San Juan Island National Historical Park preserves sites where Coast Salish people lived before the smallpox epidemics and tribal raids between 1782-1857.

You can visit American Camp and English Camp for free, with visitor centers open 10AM-3PM most days.

At American Camp, explore ancient shell middens and the original village site at 4th of July Beach, plus hiking trails to Mount Finlayson and South Beach.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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