Talk:Skagit River

issues with native history

The river takes its name from the Skagit tribe, a Native American people. Native people have lived along the Skagit for many centuries. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Upper Skagit tribe lived in the area now called Ross Lake National Recreation Area at least 8,000 years ago. The Upper Skagit tribe occupied the land along the Skagit from what is now Newhalem to the mouth of the river. The Lower Skagit tribe lived along the river from above the Newhalem gorge into British Columbia. Archaeological evidence reveals that these people lived from the land through fishing, hunting, and gathering.

First off, there is no single Skagit (tribe); despite the common name in English the Upper and Lower Skagit are two different groups, even with, I think, separate languages. So the wording of the first sentence is problematic; the Skagit (tribe) page is really a two-item disambig. Also the remainder of the paragraph confuses me - the Lower Skagit being on the Upper Skagit River, the Upper Skagit being in the Lower Skagit River. Surely that's a mistake?Skookum1 (talk) 15:45, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Definitely a mistake, the Lower Skagit (tribe) lived around the Skagit delta, and Mount Vernon, Washington, but mostly on Whidbey Island, where they had lots of villages. I don't have any books with me, but I would think that those living north of Newhalem would be the Thompsons (sorry, forget their non-colonial name). The book that's cited in the Upper Skagit article, I think it's called Valley of the Spirits, is really in depth concerning the village sites and whatnot of the Upper Skagit. Murderbike (talk) 16:22, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

The Thompsons are the Nlaka'pamux and while their territory does reach down into Washington (the Pasayten-Chelan-Stehekin area) AFAIK they were not in the upper Skagit basin, which was in the territory of one of the Hope-area Sto:lo groups when not in Upper Skagit turf (I guess you mean the Upper Skagit). BTW the Upper Skagits are supposed to be one of the possible meanings of Tsiatko, also used as a variant monster-in-the-woods sasquatch type figure; that's from CJ lexicons somewhere, used by Sto:lo or other more coastal peoples to refer to the "lemolo" (wild, dangerous, untamed) people in the mountains. Maybe for Upper Skagit and Lower Skagit it would almost be best to title those the way BC tribes have been largely titled, ie. with their aboriginal name rather than their English one; this would reduce the confusion/disambiguation issues (maybe).Skookum1 (talk) 16:39, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Newhalem - that's not the name of the Upper Skagit people by any chance is it? Because Nehalem is the proper Salishan name for Tillamook, which is a Chinookan name for them.Skookum1 (talk) 16:53, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Upper Skagit tribe lived in the area now called Ross Lake National Recreation Area at least 8,000 years ago.

What's the nature of that archaeological evidence I wonder? DNA? How is it provable that the 8000-year old settlement/dig was to do with the Upper Skagit people. With some people, certainly, but short of DNA testing there's no way to say that for certain; especially after 8000 years; there were population movements in this region, despite the usual "we've been in this spot since the Creator gave it to us/made us" stuff. That line needs de-specifying I'd say - unless there's Upper Skagit-specific proof.....Skookum1 (talk) 16:53, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

I would agree with that. I don't know about native names for the two Skagit tribes, I always wondered about the Newhalem/Nehalem thing, but haven't learned anything of a connection. Murderbike (talk) 20:32, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

in the past, Padilla Bay

In the past, the Skagit River had emptied into Padilla Bay. This is evidenced by topography and the oxbow between Burlington and Mount Vernon. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shjacks45 (talk • contribs) 00:49, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Some important history.

I noted the trivial note about beaver dams but not any mention of the several gold rushes that attracted peoplebto the region. Gold is still mined today from tributary Ruby Creek. This wiki notes logjams but not that logging was the primary industry in the Skagit valley in the past (now declared "depressed timber county"). Re flooding and such; the Skagit River used to be declared a "navigable waterway" by the US Army Corps of Engineers which made them dredge the lower Skagit River (keeping the channel deep and clear helps flooding). The Corp of Engineer have recently(?)(~2000?) declared the Skagit River and is no longer a navigable waterway. The Skagit below Burlington has dikes along the river. Re dredging, the silt the river delivers to Skagit Valley provides rich soil as well as water table just below the surface provide/promote excellent farming. But silt also raises the rivers bed. A picture or explanation could show the oxbows and small (lakes) sloughs that the rivers has disintegrated into. Since this article delves into prehistory, it should mention that the Skagit River used to drain into the Padilla Bay. The lower Skagit River valley is also shared with the Samish River which drains into Samish Bay. Perhaps a historical note about Washington Public Powers Supply agency trying to build a Nuclear power plant on the Skagit River. The plant was sited atop a 100 mile long earthquake fault, which WPPSS claimed disappeared below river silt. Might note that Highway 20 follows thevSkagit River. Shjacks45 (talk) 00:25, 18 April 2020 (UTC)