I’ve spent over 25 years researching Native American tribal nations, languages, and cultures at AAANativeArts.com. The Pacific Northwest tribes covered in this article are among the ones I’ve followed most closely, including through tribal language preservation news, pow wow events, and direct contact with tribal members over the years.
— Raven, AAANativeArts.com (Est. 1999)
The Salishan language family includes more than 20 related Native languages spoken from the Pacific coast of Washington and British Columbia east to Montana. If you’ve read about the Quinault, Lummi, Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, or Flathead peoples, you’ve already encountered this family. This article maps out the five main branches, names the languages in each one, and covers where things stand with speakers and revitalization today.
What Is the Salishan Language Family?
Salishan is a group of genetically related languages, meaning they all descended from one older parent language spoken thousands of years ago somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. The family stretches from the coast of British Columbia south through western Washington, east across Idaho, and into Montana.
Linguists use “Salishan” for the whole family. “Salish” by itself usually refers to specific peoples, most often the Bitterroot Salish of Montana. The two terms get mixed up constantly in general writing, so knowing the difference helps when you’re reading about any of these nations.
These languages are not dialects of each other. Quinault and Coeur d’Alene are both Salishan, but a Quinault speaker and a Coeur d’Alene speaker cannot understand each other without study, any more than a Spanish speaker automatically understands Romanian.
How Many Salishan Languages Are There?
The count depends on where you draw the line between a language and a dialect. Linguistic references typically list about 23 Salishan languages. Community-based sources, which count varieties that outside linguists sometimes group together, reach as many as 29.
For most readers, the most useful approach is to learn the five major branches first. Once you have those, the individual language names start making sense on their own.
The Five Branches of the Salishan Language Tree
Nuxalk (Bella Coola)
Nuxalk is spoken in the Bella Coola Valley on the central coast of British Columbia. It sits as its own primary branch because its sound system and grammatical structure differ enough from the other Salishan languages to set it apart. Older sources use “Bella Coola,” but the people themselves are the Nuxalkmc, and “Nuxalk” is now standard in language programs and published linguistics.
Central Coast Salish
This is the largest branch by number of languages. It covers the peoples of Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, Vancouver Island, and the lower Fraser River. Languages in this group include Lushootseed (the language of the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Suquamish, Snohomish, and Snoqualmie peoples), Squamish, Halkomelem, Northern Straits Salish, Klallam, Nooksack, and Twana.
Lushootseed has one of the more active revitalization programs in the family. It’s used in school curricula on several Puget Sound reservations and has a published dictionary, audio recordings, and an online presence through tribal language departments.
Tsamosan
Tsamosan covers the southwestern Washington coast and the Olympic Peninsula. The four languages in this branch are Quinault, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, and Cowlitz. You’ll see older sources call this group “Olympic,” but Tsamosan is the accepted term today.
The Quinault Indian Nation speaks a Tsamosan language. If you’re new to Quinault history and culture, that article is the right place to start. Their Quinault language reflects the specific geography of the Washington coast — salmon runs, cedar groves, and river travel are embedded in the vocabulary in ways that English can’t capture in a single word.
Tillamook
Tillamook was spoken along the northern Oregon coast. It has no living first-language speakers, but it’s documented in historical word lists, recordings, and linguistic archives. Its place on the family tree is a reminder that Salishan territory once reached further south than most people realize when they think of Pacific Northwest Native languages.
Interior Salish
Interior Salish languages were spoken east of the Cascade Mountains across the Plateau region. They divide into two groups. Northern Interior Salish includes Secwepemctsin (Shuswap), Nlaka’pamuctsin (Thompson River Salish), and St’at’imcets (Lillooet), all based in interior British Columbia. Southern Interior Salish includes Nsyilxcen (Colville-Okanagan), Wenatchi-Columbian, Spokane-Kalispel-Bitterroot Salish, and Coeur d’Alene.
These languages cross the U.S.-Canada border and span parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. They’re closely related but distinct, and tribal nations on both sides of the border maintain their own language programs.
Salishan Language Tree at a Glance
- Nuxalk — Nuxalk / Bella Coola (coastal BC)
- Central Coast Salish — Lushootseed, Squamish, Halkomelem, Northern Straits Salish, Klallam, Nooksack, Twana, Sechelt, Comox, Pentlatch
- Tsamosan — Quinault, Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, Cowlitz
- Tillamook — Tillamook (Oregon coast; no living first-language speakers)
- Interior Salish — Northern: Secwepemctsin, Nlaka’pamuctsin, St’at’imcets
- Interior Salish — Southern: Nsyilxcen, Wenatchi-Columbian, Spokane-Kalispel-Bitterroot Salish, Coeur d’Alene
Where Things Stand With Speakers Today
Most Salishan languages are endangered. Some have fewer than ten fluent first-language speakers. Tillamook has none. A few, like Squamish and Lushootseed, have larger learner communities and more institutional support, but none of these languages are out of danger.
The causes are consistent across the region: land dispossession, boarding schools, decades of policies that punished children for speaking their Native languages, and the ongoing social and economic pressure to use English exclusively. The damage was deliberate, and understanding that matters when you’re reading about current revitalization work.
That work is real. The Salish School of Spokane runs immersion programs in Southern Interior Salish languages. Several Puget Sound tribes fund Lushootseed programs in their schools. The Quinault Nation has its own language preservation program. These efforts take time, funding, elders who are willing to teach, and learners who can commit to the long process of learning a language with a very different structure from English.
Our Pacific Northwest-inspired home decor at NativeCrafts.us includes pieces drawn from the artistic traditions of the Coast Salish peoples. If that’s a region you want to learn more about, it’s a good place to browse.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Salishan Language Tree
What is the Salishan language family?
The Salishan language family is a group of more than 20 related Native American languages spoken across the Pacific Northwest and Plateau regions. Traditional Salishan territory covers coastal British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The five main branches are Nuxalk, Central Coast Salish, Tsamosan, Tillamook, and Interior Salish.
Is Quinault a Salishan language?
Yes. Quinault belongs to the Tsamosan branch of the Salishan family, along with Lower Chehalis, Upper Chehalis, and Cowlitz. These languages were spoken along the southwestern Washington coast and the Olympic Peninsula. The Quinault Indian Nation has an active language preservation program working to keep it alive.
How many Salishan languages are there?
Most sources count between 23 and 29 Salishan languages, depending on whether closely related speech varieties are counted as separate languages or as dialects of the same language. The five major branches each contain multiple languages. The Central Coast Salish branch has the highest number of distinct languages.
Are any Salishan languages still spoken today?
Yes, though most are endangered. Squamish, Lushootseed, and Secwepemctsin have active learner communities and school programs. Several others have very few first-language speakers remaining. Tillamook has no living first-language speakers, though it is documented in historical archives and linguistic records.
What’s the difference between “Salish” and “Salishan”?
“Salishan” refers to the whole language family. “Salish” typically refers to specific peoples, most often the Bitterroot Salish (also called Flathead) of Montana. The right term depends on context. When discussing the language family as a whole, use Salishan. When discussing a specific people or their language, use their own preferred name.
Why are Salishan languages endangered?
Federal boarding school policies from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s removed Native children from their communities and punished them for speaking their languages. Combined with land loss, forced relocation, and ongoing economic pressure to use English, these policies broke the intergenerational chain of language transmission across most of the Salishan-speaking world.
The Salishan Tree in Context
The Salishan language family connects peoples from the Pacific coast to the Montana Rockies through a shared linguistic history older than any modern border. The five branches developed across very different landscapes and ways of life, which is why the languages, while related, are so distinct from each other that speakers of one cannot understand speakers of another.
One thing I’ve noticed over years of writing about Pacific Northwest tribes is how much a single language word can carry. A Lushootseed term for a specific salmon run encodes geography, season, species, and fishing method in ways English requires a whole sentence to approximate. That’s part of what revitalization programs are working to preserve, and it’s why understanding the tree is worth more than just knowing which branch belongs where.
To learn more about one of the Tsamosan languages, read our article on the Quinault Indian Nation, or go directly to Quinault language translations to see how the language works in practice. You can also browse Pacific Northwest Native-inspired art at NativeCrafts.us.
