From Fish Weir to Waterfall

Abstract

foothills (Snoqualmie Tribe vs. U.S. 1960:5). This wooded valley was dotted with lakes and prairies that abounded in wild game, fish, marine life, berries, and bulbs. Eighteen villages containing 96 reported longhouses were the home of 4,000 to 5,000 Snoqualmie (Martin 1933:178,187). Snoqualmie Falls, with its spectacular 268-foot waterfall, provided a natural boundary which coincidentally divided the tribe into two ecological zones: wooded riverine and open prairie. Tradition holds that a former fish weir at the present site of the Falls was mysteriously transformed into a towering waterfall on account of personal greed. Corporate development now threatens to bury the Falls as a local electric company seeks to divert additional water for hydroelectric power. Conflict is believed to have created the Falls and now threatens to destroy it. This study notes the significance of Snoqualmie Falls in the mythological, traditional, and contemporary life of the Snoqualmie Indians. Mythologically, the Falls provided the setting for the transformation of the chaos of the primeval world into order. Traditionally, the Falls have been a symbolic boundary between the Lower and Upper Snoqualmie. The Falls provides a place for contemporary Snoqualmie to gather to pray, to meditate, to worship, and to renew their contact with their ancestors and spiritual powers. This study examines the historic and contemporary significance of Snoqualmie Falls to two groups of Snoqualmie Indians-those living within the traditional twenty-five mile radius from the Falls and those who live elsewhere in the state of Washington. Section one reviews the ethnological literature on the Snoqualmie Tribe and relates those data to other literature regarding ethnicity and migration. Section two describes the importance of the Falls in traditional Snoqualmie society. Section three explains the perceived importance of the Falls to the contemporary Snoqualmie Tribe. Section four summarizes the present conflict with the Puget Sound Power and Light Company over the use of the water at the Falls.