Klallam


Klallam

(klăl`əm), Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languagesNative American languages,
languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the European arrival in the New World in the late 15th cent.
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). They formerly occupied the southern tip of Vancouver Island, B.C., and the south shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound. There are presently three bands of Klallam in the United States: the Jamestown, Lower Elwha, and Port Gamble, all in Washington state. They have a total population of about 1,500 and are engaged primarily in commercial fishing.