Sci’anew Klallam Language Association

Director: Evelyn Vandermaas

We, the xʷčiyánəxʷ people are dedicated to upholding our inherent rights to our unceded territory. Guided by the teachings of our ancestors, we honour our sacred responsibility of stewardship over the lands and waters that have sustained our people since time immemorial. Through cultural resurgence and community strength, we reaffirm our commitment to self-determination, justice, and the protection of our homelands for the generations yet to come.

*Not affiliated with the Sci’anew Tribal Council

Klallam Language at xʷčiyánəxʷ

nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əm̕úcən

First and foremost this program was started to bring our Klallam language back to this side of the Salish Sea. Considered an “extinct” or “sleeping” language the director Evelyn Vandermaas and her team strived to bring a program online and in community for our membership.

The Language House is a part of the bigger picture and is a hub for any and everything you could imagine.

• Lending Library full of Indigenous content

• Archival research and historical informative sharing

• workshops for multiple activities

• community gardens

• educational resource hub

• Elder in residence Monday to Friday

• Confidential meeting space for those who need a space for personal meetings - no fees

Please contact us for more information scianewklallam@gmail.com

Please visit https://klallamlanguage.org/

Created by our sister tribe over in Elwha. Here you can find words/definitions, videos and history of their journey through language reclamation.

A few videos are below but please visit our Legacy Page and Video Page for more in-depth information of the history of our ancestors.

The Beecher Bay First Nation (Sc’ianew) is deeply connected to the Klallam people, reflecting a shared history of migration, settlement, and cultural blending. In the mid-1800s, Klallam migrants from Port Angeles established a village at Beecher Bay, intermarrying with local Songhees, Sooke, and Kekayaken families. The community’s name, Sc’ianew, comes from the Klallam word xʷčiyánəxʷ, meaning “salmon place,” highlighting the significance of this site as a cultural and linguistic crossroads for Coast Salish peoples.

Here’s a more in-depth look at the connections between Beecher Bay (Scia’new) and American Klallam tribes across the Strait:

• Shared Ancestry & Migration
  In the mid-1800s, Klallam groups from Port Angeles (part of what’s now Washington State) migrated to Beecher Bay on Vancouver Island—some fleeing the impacts of smallpox epidemics—and established a village there. This group later became the Becher Bay Klallam, linking them directly to contemporary U.S. Klallam tribes like the Lower Elwha, Jamestown S’Klallam, and Port Gamble S’Klallam scalar.usc.edu+13cedar.wwu.edu+13en.wikipedia.org+13.

• Linguistic Continuity
  The Klallam language was historically spoken on both sides of the Strait, with distinct dialects—including Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, and Becher Bay Klallam. Though no longer a first language, efforts are underway to revitalize it across communities .

• Political & Cultural Identity
  On the U.S. side, three federally recognized Klallam tribes in Washington (Lower Elwha, Jamestown, Port Gamble) and one Canadian band (Scia′new First Nation at Beecher Bay) all trace lineage to the same Coast Salish "Strong People"—S’Klallam or nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕—and traditionally lived in villages around the Olympic Peninsula and southern Vancouver Island en.wikipedia.org+4en.wikipedia.org+4elwha.org+4accessgenealogy.com+12en.wikipedia.org+12elwha.org+12.

• Treaties & Land Rights
  U.S. tribes signed the Treaty of Point No Point (1855), and established communities like Jamestown (1874) and Lower Elwha (later with a reservation established in 1935) en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org+4elwha.org+4elwha.org+4. In Canada, Beecher Bay signed the Douglas Treaties (1850–54) and is actively negotiating modern treaties through the Te’mexw Treaty Association en.wikipedia.org+1cedar.wwu.edu+1.

• Cultural Resurgences
  All Klallam communities—U.S. and Canadian—have been working to revitalize language, preserve coastal heritage, and restore salmon runs and traditional fisheries. For example, the Lower Elwha Tribe worked to remove dams on the Elwha River (completed by 2014) to revive salmon populations and reconnect to ancestral village sites like Tse‑whit‑zen elwha.org+8en.wikipedia.org+8elwha.org+8.

In essence: Across both sides of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Beecher Bay and U.S. Klallam tribes share the same ancestral roots, language family, cultural history, and collective resurgence efforts—linked through 19th-century migration, village establishment, treaty-making, and ongoing cultural revitalization.

JAMESTOWN KLALLAM LANGUAGE CALENDER VIDEOS

JULY CALENDAR WORDS

Basic Klallam Language Instrictional video on greeting

Instructional Video on how to do Nettle Pesto in Klallam

AUGUST CALENDAR WORDS

Connected History of Sci’anew to the American S’Klallam