Bits of History
The Sauk-Suiattle Indian people have lived under the gaze of Whitehorse Mountain for many generations:
as Fishermen, Gatherers and Hunters in the region of Sauk Prairie and near the present-day towns
Darrington, Marblemount and Rockport, WA. In the early days, we were known as the Sah-ku-me-hu.
We were canoe people, plying the swift waters of the Sauk, Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Cascade and Skagit
Rivers in our river canoes. Though our homelands were in the foothills of the North Cascades, we often
traveled downriver to Puget Sound. There we harvested saltwater fish, shellfish, and other foods not available in
the mountains. We frequently voyaged in large seagoing canoes.
We also traveled over the mountains to gather food, herbs and other necessities. We became skilled
horsemen, trading with tribes from Eastern Washington. Our free roaming horses grazed among our
relatives there.
