History
ʔáwkʷ ʔaʔ cə sčiʔúʔisɬ (Belongings of our ancestors)
Historically, Klallam people lived throughout the Northern Olympic Peninsula and were united by language and kinship. Villages were on both sides of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There were approximately 33 village sites from the Hoko River in the west to the Puget Sound in the east. Downtown Port Angeles was once a thriving Klallam village known as č̕ixʷícən (Tse-whit-zen).
Settlers began arriving in the 1860s. Port Angeles and other towns were established around that time. The homesteaders forced Klallam from their traditional home sites. Some Klallam purchased land, but because they were not considered U.S. citizens, they were unable to obtain title to their ancestral holdings.
