Skip over navigation
Encyclopedia
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Makah
Makahmäkô', Native North Americans who in the early 19th cent. inhabited Cape Flattery, NW Wash. According to Lewis and Clark they then numbered some 2,000. The Makah are the southernmost of the Wakashan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock, being the only member of the Wakashan group within the United States (see Native American languages). Makah culture was fundamentally that of the Pacific Northwest Coast area. In 1855 they ceded all their lands to the United States except a small area on Cape Flattery that was set aside as a reservation. Today most of the 1,600 Makah in the United States live on the Makah Reservation; their main tribal income is from forestry.
Wikipedia search results for: Makah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Makah Renker, Ann M., and Gunther, Erna. "Makah". In "Northwest Coast", ed. Wayne Suttles. Vol. 7 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 429 are a Native American people from the northwestern corner of the continental United States in Washington. The Makah tribe lives in and around the town of Neah Bay, Washington, a small fishing village along the Strait of Juan de Fuca where it meets the Pacific Ocean. Their reservation on the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula includes Tatoosh Island. The Makah people refer to themselves as "Kwih-dich-chuh-ahtx" which translates...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Makah
Results 1 - 4  of 4
  • Flattery, Cape

    Flattery, Cape, NW Wash., at the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait; discovered in 1778 by Capt. James Cook. A lighthouse and the reservation of the Makah people are on the cape, where cliffs ris...

  • Nootka

    Nootka, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Wakashan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Nootka proper are a small group on...

  • whaling

    Whaling, the hunting of whales for the oil that can be rendered from their flesh, for meat, and for baleen (whalebone). Historically, whale oil was economically the most important. Whaling for...

  • Native American languages

    Native American languages, languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the Europe...

Reference Center To Go

Get Dictionary at your fingertips!

Download the Toolbar Now
About This Page | Browse Directory | Tell Us What You Think
© 2009 ReferenceCenter.com. All Rights Reserved.