Native American History
November is Native American Heritage Month, and this week HistoryLink looks at back at some notable Northwest Indians throughout Washington history. We begin with a few tribal leaders from the 1800s – Chief Joseph, a leader of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce Tribe (seen above with his family); Chief Kamiakin of the Yakama Tribe; Chief Moses of the Columbia band of Indians; Chief Seattle – or si?al in his native Lushootseed language – of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes; Chief Spokane Garry of the Spokane Tribe; and Chief Leschi and Chief Quiemuth of the Nisqually Tribe.
Other noteworthy Native Americans of that era include Comcomly, Smohalla, So–To–Lick, Lokout, Yelkanum Seclamatan, Baptiste Peone, Charles Jules (Schay nam'kin), Kate Kanim Borst, and William Three Mountains – both Elder and the Younger.
Throughout the years Washington has had many tribal advocates and activists, including Henry Sicade; Thomas and William Bishop, the sons of Sally Bishop Williams; Lucy Friedlander Covington; Billy Frank, Jr.; Bernie Gobin; Joe DeLaCruz; Bob Satiacum; David Sohappy; and Bernie Whitebear. Some achieved political office, such as Thomas Bishop and Claudia Kauffman.
Northwest Indians who have strived to keep Native traditions alive include Mourning Dove, Harriet Shelton Williams Dover, Marya D. Moses, William Shelton, Vi Hilbert, and Cecile Hansen. We also note such artists as Leo Adams, Bill James, Marvin Oliver, Qwalsius Shaun Peterson, Lawney Reyes, as well as musician William Arquette.
A Pacific Northwest Mystery
On November 24, 1971, D. B. Cooper became the stuff of legends. It began in Portland when a man using the alias Dan Cooper (erroneously dubbed "D. B. Cooper" by a reporter) commandeered a Boeing 727 bound for Seattle and demanded $200,000 and two parachutes. Once the plane landed, his demands were met, the passengers were allowed to disembark, and a skeleton crew remained on board.
Cooper next requested that the jet take off and head south, but at a low altitude (10,000 feet) with the landing gear down. The 727 was designed with a set of aft stairs, and somewhere over Southwest Washington – while the crew was in the cockpit – Cooper lowered the stairway and vanished into the rainy night. Years later, some of the ransom money was discovered on the banks of the Columbia River, but no sign of Cooper was ever found. Maybe he landed safely into the arms of a Sasquatch and they lived happily ever after. We may never know.
