Twana

Twana (Twana: təwəʔduq) is the collective name for a group of nine Coast Salish peoples in the western Puget Sound region along much of Hood Canal. The Skokomish are the main surviving group and self-identify as the Twana today. The spoken language, also named Twana, is part of the Central Coast Salish language group. The Twana language is closely related to Lushootseed.

The nine groups making up the Twana are the Dabop, Quilcene, Dosewallips, Duckabush, Hoodsport, Skokomish, Vance Creek, Tahuya, and Duhlelap. By 1860 there were 33 settlements in total, with the Skokomish making up the majority of the population. Most descendants of all groups now are citizens of the Skokomish Indian Tribe and live on the Skokomish Indian Reservation at Skokomish, Washington, in Mason County on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Ancestral origins of the Twana include the Proto-Salish people of the northwest Americas who migrated into Washington and developed into 23 distinct tribes, each speaking its own language. European-American contact with the Twana likely began around 1788 when traders participating in the Maritime Fur Trade came looking for sea otter pelts in the Pacific Northwest. The trade was so extensive that the sea otter population was almost diminished by 1792. There was subsequently little non-native contact in the region for about 30 years.

The Twana, along with dozens of nearby tribes, were forced into ceding their land by a series of treaties with the United States, starting with the Oregon Treaty (1846) and later the Washington Territory (1853). White settlers began moving onto the lands alongside the Twana and other tribes for a short period of time.

In 1855 the US enacted the Treaty of Point No Point, which required all Native Americans in the area to migrate from their lands and into reservations within one year after it was passed.

The 9 groups who make up the Twana were historically completely autonomous and independent. The Twana were bound by no higher political power, but only by shared language, location, and cultural practices. While the area in the immediate vicinity of a group's village would be exclusive use, the vast majority of land was used freely by all Twana groups.

Native Americans of the Coast Salish region resided in semi-permanent villages. They usually moved between summer and winter locations over the course of the year in accordance with fishing and crop seasons. The people constructed permanent plank houses in winter locations. In the summer they lived in temporary tent-style dwellings. Permanent villages could include homes, sweat houses, and potlatch houses. Twana chiefs had their own speaker who delivered speeches to the villagers. There were individuals who made morning calls to wake up the village as well. Status and wealth were divided among social classes.

The Twana Tribe's primary resources were salmon (pink, coho, chum/dog, chinook, sockeye), cedar, and redwood. Other sources of food and material included herring, smelt, and shellfish. They also hunted such game as seals, sea otters, blacktail deer, black bear, elk, and fowl. They harvested plant species such as bracken, camas, and wapato. They gathered roots, berries, and nuts in the region to prepare and consume. Hides and shredded cedar bark were used to make aprons, skirts, breechclouts, shirts, leggings, robes, and moccasins.