Chehalis Tribe

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and other agency records.

Tribal Headquarters
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation 420 Howanut Road, P.O. Box 536 Oakville, WA 98568 Ph. 1-360-273-5911 FAX 1-360-273-5914


 * Official Chehalis Tribal web site

Brief Timeline
1788: John Meares explores Shoalwater Bay

1830: Epidemics depopulate the tribe.The Lower Chehalis merge with the Chinook and the Upper Chehalis with the Suwal.

1846: Treaty of Washington

1855: Governor Isaac Stevens arrives in Washington

1864: Chehalis reservation established

1866: Shoalwater Bay Reservation established

1960: Federal recognition of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation

The Chehalis tribe was under the following jurisdictions

Agency
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

Tahola Agency

Reservations
Chehalis Reservation

Shoalwater Bay Reservation

Superintendencies
Washington Superintendency

Oregon Superintendency

Additional References
Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Chehalis 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 America.

Records
Correspondence and Census

Important Web Sites

 * Official Chehalis Tribal web site
 * Chehalis Tribe Wikipedia

For Further Reading
For background information to help find American Indian ancestors see For Further Reading.