Makah Tribe

United States

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous Peoples of Washington

Makah Tribe

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Various Spellings: Makah, Maha

Ancestral Homeland: Cape Flattery, now northwestern Washington.

Whalers

Tribal Headquarters

Makah Tribal Council
PO Box 115
Neah Bay, Wa 98357
Ph. 1-360-645-2201
email - makah@centurytel.net

Makah Cultural and Research Center
P.O. Box 160
Neah Bay, WA 98357
Ph. 1-360-645-2711
Fax: 1-360-645-2656
email - makahmuseum@centurytel.net

• Official Makah Nation web site

History

Brief Timeline

• 1788: John Meares anchored near cost of Tatoosh Island
• 1790: Spanish establish a fort at Neah Bay
• 1800s: Epidemics killed many
• 1815
• 1825
• 1855 Treay of Neah Bay ceded land to United States
• 1863: Boarding school established at Neah Bay

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Makah tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North.

Reservations

This tribe is primarily associated with the Makah Reservation in Washington.

Agencies

Makah Agency

Neah Bay Agency - Tahola

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• Vital records

Correspondence and Census

Tribe	Agency	Location of OriginalRecords	Pre-1880 Correspondence M 234 RG 75 Rolls Roll Number	FHL Film Number	Post-1885 Census M 595 RG 75 Rolls Roll Number	FHL Film Number
Makah	Neah Bay (Tahola) Agency, 1878-1952	Seattle	-	-	282-86	FHL Films 579693-696 and FHL Films 583023-028

School Records

Neah Bay School

Treaties

• 1815
• 1825
• 1855

Vital Records

• Neah Bay Agency, M595,
  • Births and deaths 1925-1932, FHL Film 579696

Important Web Sites

• Official Makah Nation web site
• Constitution and Bylaws of the Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation, Adopted in 1936
• Makah Tribe Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
• Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. WorldCat 317923332; FHL book 970.1 R259e.
• Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188; FHL book 970.1 G131g.

Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean

Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America

Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau

Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands

• Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978– .
  

Volume 1 -- Not yet published

Volume 2 -- Indians in Contemporary Society (pub. 2008) -- WorldCat 234303751

Volume 3 -- Environment, Origins, and Population (pub. 2006) -- WorldCat 255572371

Volume 4 -- History of Indian-White Relations (pub. 1988) -- WorldCat 19331914; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.4.

Volume 5 -- Arctic (pub. 1984) -- WorldCat 299653808; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.5.

Volume 6 -- Subarctic (pub. 1981) -- WorldCat 247493742; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.6.

Volume 7 -- Northwest Coast (pub. 1990) -- WorldCat 247493311

Volume 8 -- California (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 13240086; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.8.

Volume 9 -- Southwest (pub. 1979) -- WorldCat 26140053; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.9.

Volume 10 -- Southwest (pub. 1983) -- WorldCat 301504096; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.10.

Volume 11 -- Great Basin (pub. 1986) -- WorldCat 256516416; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.11.

Volume 12 -- Plateau (pub. 1998) -- WorldCat 39401371; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.12.

Volume 13 -- Plains, 2 vols. (pub. 2001) -- WorldCat 48209643

Volume 14 -- Southeast (pub. 2004) -- WorldCat 254277176

Volume 15 -- Northwest (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 356517503; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.15.

Volume 16 -- Not yet published

Volume 17 -- Languages (pub. 1996) -- WorldCat 43957746

Volume 18 -- Not yet published

Volume 19 -- Not yet published

Volume 20 -- Not yet published

• Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
• Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193; FHL book 970.1 W146e 2006.

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