Multnomah
The Multnomah were a Chinookan-speaking people who inhabited the area around the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, including Sauvie Island and the Portland Basin of present-day Oregon. Clark explored the lower Willamette River in April 1806 on the return journey and documented large Multnomah villages, noting their substantial cedar plank houses, extensive use of wapato root, and active participation in Columbia River trade. The term "Multnomah" as used by Lewis and Clark likely encompassed several related Chinookan bands in the Portland Basin area. Like other Chinookan peoples of the lower Columbia, the Multnomah were devastated by disease in the decades following contact.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia: Multnomah Falls (homeland)
Most Mentioned in Multnomah-tagged Entries
People
- Capt Lewis (8)
- Capt. Clark (7)
- Joseph Field (7)
- Drouillard (6)
- Nathaniel Pryor (4)
- Reubin Field (3)
- York (2)
- Patrick Gass (2)
- Collins (2)
- Shannon (2)
Places
- Columbia River (13)
- Snake River (7)
- Rocky Mountains (7)
- Mt. Hood (5)
- Multnomah river (5)
- Mt. Jefferson (4)
- Mount Hood (4)
- Multnomah River (4)
- Image Canoe Island (3)
- Wappetoe Island (3)
Territory & Encounter Locations
Note: the longest gap between tagged appearances is about 5 months (Nov 4, 1805 → Mar 30, 1806). No journal entries during that window were explicitly tagged with this nation.
Journal Entries (19)
Cross-Narrator Analyses
AI-assisted scholarly analyses that cite or discuss Multnomah — showing 5 of the most recent matches.
Crossing to the Walla Walla: Four Pens, One Fish-Weir
On the south bank of the Columbia near Yelleppit's village, four expedition journalists record the same crossing — but their attention scatters…
Drying Elk and Describing a Quail: Four Pens at the Cascades
On a fair April day above the Cascades of the Columbia, four expedition narrators record the same routine of drying elk meat…
Four Pens at the Cascades: A Quail, an Elk Camp, and the Measure of a River
On April 6, 1806, four expedition journalists describe the same elk-drying camp above the Cascades — but diverge sharply when Reubin Field…
Two Camps, Two Rivers: Discovery and Hunger on the Columbia
On April 3, 1806, the expedition's narrators record divergent experiences: Clark returns triumphant from charting a great southern river, while Lewis observes…
The Multnomah Revealed: A River Missed Twice and a Plan Reconsidered
On April 2, 1806, the captains resolve to lay in elk meat for the journey east, while Shah-ha-la informants sketch on a…
From Heacock's Writings
3 mirrored articles by Robert Heacock that mention Multnomah.
