The Chehalis are a Salish-speaking Indian nation whose aboriginal homeland was along the lower Chehalis River in what is now Washington. The Chehalis Reservation includes the Chinook, Clatsop, and Cowlitz Indians. The term “chehalis” is the Salish word for sand. The Lewis County Historical Museum in Chehalis, Washington has one room dedicated to displaying local Chehalis Indian artifacts.
Shown above is a diorama depicting typical daily life in a Chehalis village. Note that these people do not live in tipis, but traditionally constructed fairly substantial plank houses.
Fish, an important part of the diet, were caught using weirs, by netting, or by spearing.
Shown above is the process of making planks for the houses.
Shown above is a dugout canoe which was typical for this region. This style of canoe is sometimes called a shovel nose canoe.
Shown above is a collection of stone arrowheads. Collections such as these are common in many small museums. However, once the arrowhead collector has vandalized the archaeological site by removing the artifact any historical significance is lost. Collections such as these serve as evidence of the looting of Native American history and heritage.