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Long ago, the Lummi Indian’s name for the island was Sa-NAM-A-O , which means High Mountain. SKALLAHAM was another ancient name that was used by the Lummi Indians.
In 1792 the Spanish explorers Galiana and Valdez charted it as ISLA DE PACHECO after the viceroy of Mexico, who’s long name, Vincente de Guemes Pacheco Pallia Orcasitas e Aguayo, was obviously the inspiration for several of the islands in this region.’
In 1841 members of the Wilke’s Expedition Charted it as MC LOUGHLIN’S ISLAND after chief agent of the Hudson Bay company John Me Loughlin.
In 1853 the US Geoditic Service named it LUMMI ISLAND because it was the ancestral home of the Lummi Indians.
Some historians think that the name LUMMI may have come from the word LAMIEH in the Chinook jargon, which means” old woman”
Another possibility for the origin of the word “LUMMI” could be a contraction or
nickname for “TLA W ALAMES”, which was a large village on Lopez.
A further possibility for the name is an adaptation from a Coast Salish word that means “facing each other” ,which was the name of a great L-shaped house at Gooseberry Point. The name was perhaps first recorded as Lummie in 1824 by Scouler.
Another name that crops up often in the literature about the island is THE PEARL
OF ROSARIO STRAIGHT.
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The Birth and Naming of the Island
Lummi Island is a remnant of land left after the melting of the glaciers following the last ice age about 10 thousand years ago. Today it covers 8.8 square miles and is 9 miles long and 2 miles wide with a shoreline of 20.5 miles.
The mountainous south end is base rock with an elevation of 1665 feet above sea level whereas the north end is made up of glacial deposits with an elevation of 362 feet giving each end its unique topography.
The original inhabitants of the Island used the island to fish, hunt and gather food and gave it the ancient names Skallahan, meaning ??? and Sa-Mam-A-O, meaning ‘high mountain’.
In 1792 the island was named Isla de Pacheco by Spanish explorers Galliano and Valdez after the Viceroy of Mexico .Senor Vincente de Guemes Pacheco Pallia Orcacitas e Aguayo.
Explorer Wilkes renamed the island Mcloughlins Island in 1841 after Dr John Macloughlin, Hudsons b\Bay factor for Oregon, then, in 1853 a U.S. Coastal Survey changed the name to Lummi Island after the Lummi tribe that “once inhabited the island”.
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The Naming of the Island
Lummi Island has had many names. The original inhabitants of this area used the island to fish, hunt and gather food and gave the island the name ‘ Sa nam a 0′ meaning’ high mountain’. Another ancient name,’Skallaham’, the meaning of which is not known, was also used by the indigenous people.
In 1792 the island was named Isla de Pacheco by Spanish explorers Galiano and Valdez after the Viceroy of Mexico, Senor Vincente de Guemes Pacheco Pallia Orcasitas e Aguyo, also the inspiration for the names of several neighboring islands in the area.
The Wilkes expedition renamed the island McLoughlin’s Island in 1841 after Dr. John McLoughlin, the Hudson Bay agent for Oregon. Then in 1853 a U.S. Geodetic Survey changed the name to Lummi Island after the Lummi natives.
Many possibilities exist for the origin of the name Lummi. It may have come from the Chinook word’ Lamieh’ meaning “old woman.” Another is the contraction of the name Tlawalames, a large village once located on Lopez Island. A third possibility is from a Coast Salish word’ Wh’lah luh muhs ‘meaning ‘facing each other’ and was the name of an unusual L-shaped long house on Gooseberry Point.
Updated: 2021/06/16 @ 2:00 pm Tark Henderson