Comcomly

Comcomly (or Concomly) (1765–1830¹) was a Native American leader of the Lower Chinook, a group of Chinookan peoples indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, who inhabited the area near Ilwaco, Washington. Concomly spoke Lower Chinook and was known for his skill with diplomacy and trade.

Comcomly (or Concomly) (1765–1830) was a Native American leader of the Lower Chinook, a group of Chinookan peoples indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, who inhabited the area near Ilwaco, Washington. Concomly spoke Lower Chinook and was known for his skill with diplomacy and trade. ==Family== Concomly was reported to have several wives. His daughter Ilchee (also Princess of Wales), married Duncan McDougall of the Pacific Fur Company He returned to Canada without her. She later married Chief Casino. Comcomly's daughter Koale'xoa (also Raven or Princess Sunday), married Archibald McDonald a Scottish-born trader. She died giving birth to their son, Ranald MacDonald. ===Descendants=== Descendants of Comcomly include Chinook elder and historian Catherine Troeh and United States Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, who perished in Libya during the 2012 militant attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. ==Death== A malaria epidemic that occurred in 1830–33 in the Willamette Valley resulted in a tremendous loss of Native American lives. Malaria was one of several diseases brought by colonizers that killed an estimated 150,000 Native peoples near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in Oregon and Washington state between 1829 and 1833. Comcomly died in 1830 after an "intermittent fever" epidemic, also called "cold sick" and presumed to be malaria, struck his tribe. His remains were interred in a canoe, per Chinook custom, in the family burial ground. In 1835, Comcomly's elongated skull was stolen from his grave by Hudson Bay Company physician Dr. Meredith Gairdner and sent to Scotland for scientific study. It was displayed in England at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar Museum. Although damaged in The Blitz during World War II, the skull was eventually sent to the Clatsop County Historical Society in Astoria in 1953, and then to the Smithsonian Institution in 1956. In 1972, Conconmly's skull was finally repatriated to Chinook tribal members for reburial. ==Namesakes== There was a station of the Oregon Electric Railway in Marion County named "Concomly". His name also appears on Concomly Road in the Salem, Oregon area. Chief Concomly Park in Scappoose, Oregon opened in 2019 and is named for him. ==References== Johnson, Tony A. (2017) Chinook Resilience: Heritage and Cultural Revitalization on the Lower Columbia River, University of Washington Press, ISBN 9780295742267. ==External links== Comcomly (1760s?-1830) at HistoryLink Leadership from trailtribes.org includes The Succession of Comcomly Drawing of Comcomly's tomb from lewis-clark.org

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377975841 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.