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Physical
Tribes and Indigenous Nations of the Lower Columbia
Indigenous peoples of the Lower Columbia: the Chinookan peoples, the Multnomah, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and the Chinook Indian Nation.
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The idea
Indigenous peoples have lived along the lower Columbia River for thousands of years. Chinookan peoples and their ancestors have lived along the Columbia River, from its gorge down to its mouth and along nearby coasts, since at least 11,500 BCE. They are groups who speak the Chinookan languages.
The Multnomah are a Chinookan tribe from the Portland area. Their villages stood throughout the Portland basin and on both sides of the Columbia River. The Chinook Indian Nation is made up of the five westernmost Chinookan tribes, and its headquarters is in Bay Center, Washington. The Cowlitz are different: they are Southwestern Coast Salish and Sahaptan peoples. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe, based in Longview, Washington, has been federally recognized since 2000, and its reservation was set up in 2010.
Chinookan peoples ran a large trading network along the river before and during European colonization. Federal recognition, which means formal government-to-government ties with the United States, has been a long struggle for some of these nations. The Chinook Indian Nation was recognized in 2001, but the decision was reversed in 2002, and the tribe has kept seeking recognition ever since.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 2
Which of these has been federally recognized since 2000?
Composition
what it's made of
- Chinookan peoples — Groups who speak Chinookan languages and have lived along the Columbia River since at least 11,500 BCE.
- Multnomah — A Chinookan tribe whose villages lined the Portland basin and both banks of the Columbia.
- Chinook Indian Nation — The five westernmost Chinookan tribes, headquartered in Bay Center, Washington.
- Cowlitz Indian Tribe — A tribe of Cowlitz people in Washington, federally recognized since 2000.
Connection
how it relates
Under Lower Columbia Region
Change
how and why it evolves
- Past
- Chinookan peoples had lived on the river for thousands of years when the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived in 1805. In 1851 the tribes that would form the Chinook Nation signed the Tansy Point Treaty, but Congress never ratified it.
- Now
- As of 2022 the Chinook Indian Nation had 3,123 citizens, and on March 9, 2026, the Washington State Senate formally acknowledged its presence along the lower Columbia River. The tribe works on canoe and language revitalization and holds events such as a Winter Gathering and a First Salmon Festival.
- Next
- After the tribe sued the Department of the Interior, a court found the ban on reapplying for recognition unreasonable, so the tribe may be able to apply again, though the outcome is uncertain.