The Skokomish tribe is one of the largest of the Twana tribes
They speak a specific dialect of the Salish language
The last fluent speaker died in 1980 and the tribe mainly communicate in English now
Volunteers now use older recordings of tribe members to decipher and preserve the language
Language
Government
The Skokomish tribe initially had no formal government
Richest member would make major decisions with public input
The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 compelled them to adopt an elected government 1938
The council has a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer and a tribal manager
Topic 3
Economics
The Skokomish were originally hunter-gatherers, having different occupations depending on what they hunted
Men carved objects out of wood and women made ropes and cord
In the 20th century, they began setting up fishing companies to capitalize on growing demand and later acquired land in the 70’s to set up industry
The Skokomish tribe currently owns a fish hatchery and a Fish processing plant
the tribe harvests huckleberries, salal, and juvenile cedar in addition to a variety of mushrooms that they market internationally and medicinal herbs that they use and sell.
The largest employer is the government and casinos
Religion
Skokomish religion is still preserved to this day, and was relatively unaffected by the evangelical pursuits of the explorers
They believed that the world originally had creatures that were a mix of humans and animals, who were molded into objects, animals and humans
They also believe in the difference between body-soul duality and rebirth.
Present-day tribe members prefer the Indian Shaker Church and often follow the Assemblies of God religion
ART
Skokomish art was often religious
It involves abstract constructs often drawn on solid surfaces with stones
They also produced a lot of pottery and wooden figures
Basket weaving was also an integral part of Skokomish art