Welcome to Middle Village

Welcome to Middle Village. . This place , where river meets ocean – is one of many stories. The Chinook people lived here at Qiqayaqilxam, or Middle Village, for countless generations. Qiqayaqilxam is one of several villages that stretched from Cape Disappointment to Pillar Rock, 25 miles upriver from the Pacific Ocean. From this strategic position along the lower Columbia River, the Chinook became mighty traders and powerful directors of commerce., By the late 18th century, Americans and Europeans arrived, first for trade, and ultimately to lay claim to the Northwest. In 1805, Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery arrived, and from here achieved their mission of reaching the Pacific Ocean and advancing the U.S. bid for an empire that stretched from coast to coast. By the 1850s, the McGowan family settled here, and established a town and a salmon cannery and built a church., Captions , (top) Chinook paddlers sit at rest in a ceremonial canoe crafted by contemporary Chinook artists. Today, the Chinook Indian Nation consists of the descendants of five Chinookan tribes: Lower Chinook, Wahkiakium, Kathlamet, Clatsop and Willapa. Lisa Elliott , (bottom) The Chinook, as accomplished canoeists, moved about the waterways of the region. In 1910, Edward Curtis photographed these Chinook canoes on Willapa Bay, which the Chinook reached by portages between small tributary rivers that connected the bay with the Columbia River. Northwestern University Library, Edward Curtis's 'The North American Indians,' the Photographic Images, 2011