SAN JUAN ISLAND, Wash. - Kurt Russo said a Lummi man once told him he shook the hand of a man who shook the hand of a man who signed the Point Elliott Treaty on Jan. 22, 1855.
Like other First Peoples, the Lummi have a generational view of time. In other words, 1855 was not 152 years ago - it was only two handshakes ago.
Likewise for the Lummi presence on the San Juan Islands. Only two handshakes ago, the Lummi occupied at least 10 villages in the San Juans, including P'kweekh-eel-wuhlh on San Juan Island, believed to be the original home of the Lummi and the Songish through Sweh-tuhn, the first man.
Archaeological evidence at some of those village sites show occupation dating 5,000 years; a few artifacts, from a collection of more than 1 million pieces, are housed in a permanent exhibit at the National Park Service's American Camp visitor center.
Bill James, retired coordinator of the Lummi language program at Northwest Indian College, said in a 2005 interview that the Lummi were forced off the islands because of smallpox, treaties and the move to reservations.
There's more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415341
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