Timeline of the
Muckleshoot Language
Our History
Time Immemorial
Muckleshoot Language is spoken widely by our ancestors.
1851
White settlers arrive
White Settlers move in to Pioneer Square in what is now downtown Seattle.
1855
Treaty of Point Eliott
The Muckleshoot Tribe and other tribes signed a treaty with the US government to cede their homelands in exchange for services and reservations. Treaty rights included the right to continue fishing in the usual and accustomed places.
1857
Boarding School Era begins
Muckleshoot children are taken from their families to live at boarding schools in Tulalip and Milton, WA. This results in Muckleshoot youth being deprived of their cultural ways, and they do not learn the language. Continues until the 20th century.
1970’s
Language revitalization begins
Dr Thom Hess partners with Vi Hilburt (Upper Skagit) to begin revitalizing the language. They create the term “Lushootseed” to mean the language of the Salish Sea, breaking it into Northern and Southern Lushootseed dialects. Muckleshoot speaks the Southern dialect.
1994
Lushootseed Dictionary Published
Dawn Bates, Dr Thom Hess and Vi Hilburt (Upper Skagit) publish the Lushoot Dictionary also known as the Gold Dictionary.
1990’s
zeke zaihir begins language research
Publishing language lessons and other learning materials.