Pre-Contact History
Ancient History
Populated since the last ice age (around 10,000 years ago), the lands of the Puget Sound have undergone vast climactic and geological changes, as the area changed from glacial ice sheets to dry tundra, to grassland savanna, and finally, into what we recognize as a typical Puget Sound lowland forest. These ecological regimes left their marks still seen in the geography, rocks, soils, flora and fauna we see today – and are reflected in the Coast Salish peoples and culture encountered by the early European and American explorers and migrants starting in 1792.
The original ancient local peoples were small familial bands of hunters of the mega-fauna of the time: Ground Sloths, Mastodons, Wooly Mammoths, and Giant Bison. As their world and the life and resources around them changed, so did their culture – eventually producing what we now call the Coast Salish culture, of which the Snoqualmie peoples are a part.
Coast Salish Peoples
Coast Salish culture was based around the wetlands – from the ocean, and sound to the rivers and streams to the upland forest hunting grounds. Although they are all connected, each of these types of wetlands and the surrounding forests provided unique resources and challenges and producing local cultural variations amongst the various groups populating the area. With an environment characterized by mild climate and abundant resources, and that did not demand regular migration, or the development of mass agriculture, the Coast Salish peoples were united through intermarriage, trade, language and cultural practices and heritage.
An interesting cultural practice was the potlatch – a ceremonial gathering whereby wealth and power was demonstrated through voluntary distribution of gifts to attendees. But the Coast Salish were not isolated. Although the Cascade mountains are a natural isolating barrier for the Puget Sound, there is ample evidence of cultural and trade exchange with the indigenous peoples and cultures east of the mountains.
The Coast Salish culture was centered on deep appreciation and understanding of the bounteous resources and ecological cycles of the Puget Sound region. Life revolved around annual salmon migration, abundant game, and the many edible, medicinal, and useful plants native to the area. The Burke Museum has identified a list of well over 280 species of plants and animals known to be part of their diet. In addition, the forest and wetlands supplied water, and resources to build dry, safe homes (long houses), fabric for clothing, and supplies for basketry necessary for life in the temperate wet climate. A key species was the fragrant and rot-resistant Western redcedar which supplied wood and bark and could be fashioned into numerous products and uses.
This culture was characterized by local variation on larger cultural themes – "neighborhoods" rather than separate cultures. However, with an agriculture-based culture, the European and American peoples that began to populate the area in the 1800s assumed that all peoples based social-political life on land ownership and related hierarchical ‘strong-man’ power structures and competition. As a result, the peoples of the individual watersheds were generally perceived to be and were treated as separate rival “tribes” with “chiefs” – not unlike the generally nomadic indigenous cultures encountered in the American plains. These different understandings of human nature affected the evolving cultural relationship driving the creation of treaties, and concepts of ownership and dominion that affect the region to the present day. The American culture recognized the Snoqualmie Tribe as the indigenous "owner" of the property we now call Trilogy at Redmond Ridge.
Image source.