Twana (Twana: ) 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.
History
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. 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).
Divisions
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.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Twana Name
!English name
!Meaning
!Village location(s)
|-
|čttaʔbuxʷ
|Dabob
|Long Spit people
|Long Spit (), at the head of Dabob Bay
|-
|sqʷul̕sidəbəš
|Quilcene
|People of the saltwater
|The mouth of Donovan Creek ()
|-
|čtduswaylupš
|Dosewallips
|Dosewallips River people
|The mouth of the Dosewallips River ()
|-
|čtduxʷyabus
|Duckabush
|Duckabush River people
|The mouth of the Duckabush River ()
|-
|čtslal̕aɬlaɬtəbəxʷ
|Hoodsport
|Slahal-country people
|The mouth of Finch Creek ()
|-
|squqəʔbəš
|Skokomish
|People of the river
|
- The confluence of the forks of the Skokomish River ()
- The mouth of McTaggert Creek ()
- A flat on the Skokomish River between villages 2 and 4, called
- Below the falls at Lake Kokanee ()
- The former lower end of Lake Cushman ()
|-
|čtq̓ʷəlq̓ʷili
|Vance Creek
|Cedar trees people
|Up Vance Creek () at the prairies
|-
|čttax̌uya
|Tahuya
|
|The mouth of Tahuya Bay ()
|-
|čxʷlələp
|Duhlelap
|People at the far end of the canal
|The mouth of Mission Creek () at Belfair State Park
|}
Society
Pre-contact and reservation era
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.
Ceremonies included the winter dance, soul recovery, elaborately painting boards, and Tamanawas. Twana potlatches could be held at any time of the year but were common in the winter. The extravagant gathering was hosted or sponsored by an individual man or group of men, who were the gift-donors. Guests were invited from nearby villages and tribes, and they received the hosts' gifts, as a display of the latter's wealth and power.