S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

Advancing the title, rights, economic, and cultural interests of the Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty descendants and S'Klallam peoples.

Our mission

To uphold the culture, language, history, and economy of the nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əmúcən-speaking peoples, and to protect our unceded title and inherent rights for future generations.

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

We Are The Strong People

told by Beatrice Charles, told to her by Sam Ulmer

One day there was a big gathering at Elwha. They ate salmon, clams, wild berries, and lots of good things from nature.

Then they had a contest to see who was the strongest. They decided to see who could lift a big log to the top of a big house that they were building. All of the other tribes tried to lift the log. Each tribe chose their strongest men. None of them could lift the big log.

It was time for the mighty Klallams. They remembered that logs float in water. So they rolled the big log into the water. Then their strongest young men walked out into the water until it was up to their shoulders. Then they let the log float onto their shoulders and walked out of the water carrying the log on their shoulders.

When they reached the longhouse, everyone shouted, “šaʔšúm, šaʔšúm, šaʔšúm!” On the third time they all lifted it up to the top. All the other tribes thought that the mighty Klallams must be very strong to put the log up so high, and smart to use the water to first get the log onto their shoulders.

They all shouted, “Nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm! Nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm!” which means, “Strong People! Strong People!”
That is how our tribe received its name.

Building a Strong Foundation for Self-Determination

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

Title and Rights

A person standing next to a sports car on a street at night, with a building and lit windows in the background.

Self-Governance

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

Douglas Treaties

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

Programs and Services

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

Language and Culture

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

History and Lineage

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

Economic Development

S'Klallam, Klallam, Chewhaytsum, Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty, Beecher Bay, Sc'ianew, Coast Salish, First Nations, Vancouver Island, Douglas Treaty, Douglas Treaties, 1850 Douglas Treaty, historic treaty, treaty rights, Aboriginal title, unceded title,

Land, Water, Air

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Frequently Asked Questions

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  • The S'Klallam Chewhaytsum Society is a membership organization of the descendants of the Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaty signatories. Our members come together to uphold our S'Klallam culture, language, history, and economy, and to protect the unceded title and inherent rights of our people. The Society is the vehicle through which our members organize today, with the goal of full self-determination as a Nation.

  • It is neither, and that distinction is deliberate.

    A First Nation, in the legal sense, is a band recognized under the Indian Act. A Tribal Council is an administrative body that delivers shared services to a group of bands. Both are structures defined within the Canadian system.

    The S'Klallam Chewhaytsum Society is a membership organization that our people control directly. It is an interim vehicle. It allows us to organize, govern ourselves, hold assets, and advocate for our rights now, while we build toward recognition and operation as a self-determining S'Klallam Nation grounded in our own law rather than in federal legislation.

  • First Nations are a band government created and recognized under the Indian Act. Like all band governments, its structure, authority, and membership rules are defined by federal legislation.

    The S'Klallam Chewhaytsum Society is different in its foundation. It is organized by and for the descendants of the Chewhaytsum Douglas Treaties, and it is grounded in our inherent title and rights and in our S'Klallam identity, rather than in the Indian Act. Where the band government operates within the framework Canada has set, the Society exists to assert and rebuild what is inherently ours.

    The two are not in conflict over who our people are. Many of our members are also members of the band. The Society exists to carry forward the parts of our identity, our title, and our rights that the Indian Act framework was never designed to hold.

  • We are S'Klallam. This is the identity of our ancestors, the language of our territory, and the name of the place we come from, xʷčiyánəxʷ, the place of the big fish.

    Over generations, federal and provincial systems have categorized our people in ways that serve administrative convenience rather than truth. Our S'Klallam identity has been folded into Indian Act band identity. When our distinct S'Klallam identity is obscured, so are our distinct history, our distinct language, our distinct treaties, and our distinct rights.

    Distinct representation means our title, our Douglas Treaties, and our S'Klallam identity are carried forward by our own people, in our own voice, rather than spoken for within categories that were not ours to begin with.

  • No. Membership in the S'Klallam Chewhaytsum Society is separate from membership in any band and separate from Indian Act status. The Society is a membership organization, not a band. Joining does not change your registration, your status, or your membership in your First Nation or any other band.