Inchelium ( oka, N̓čaʔlíwm̓) is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
(CDP) in
Ferry County
Ferry County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,178, making it the fourth-least populous county in Washington. The county seat and largest city is Republic. Th ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, United States on the
Colville Indian Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the northwest United States, in north central Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is federally recognized.
Established ...
. The population was 431 at the
2020 Census.
Inchelium was relocated from an earlier site in the early 1940s. Old Inchelium had been located on the banks of the
Columbia River before the construction of the
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerh ...
. As the waters rose behind the dam, the town had to be moved. A description of life in the last years of Old Inchelium and of the move can be found in
Lawney Reyes
Lawney L. Reyes (1931 – August 10, 2022) was an American Sin-Aikst artist, curator, and memoirist, based in Seattle, Washington.
Biography
Lawney Reyes was born in 1931 to Mary Christian, Sin-Aikst (now known as the Sinixt). Historically ...
' memoir ''White Grizzly Bear's Legacy: Learning to be Indian'' and his history/memoir ''B Street: The Notorious Playground of Coulee Dam''.
[Lawney Reyes, ''B Street: The Notorious Playground of Coulee Dam'', University of Washington Press, 2008, .]
Inchelium is the demographic heart of the
Inchelium School District and the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation is the federally recognized tribe that controls the Colville Indian Reservation, which is located in northeastern Washington, United States. It is the government for its people.
The Confederate Tr ...
Inchelium Legislative District
Geography
Inchelium is located at (48.313214, -118.221681).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the CDP has a total area of 26.5 square miles (68.8 km
2), of which, 26.5 square miles (68.7 km
2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km
2) of it (0.11%) is water.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Inchelium has a dry-summer
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
, abbreviated "Dsb" on climate maps.
Demographics from Census 2010
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 409 people residing in Inchelium.
The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.5%
Native American, 14.2%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 5.6% from two or more races, 1.5% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.2%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 5.1% of the population.
Residents under the age of eighteen made up 27.4% of the population versus 72.6% of the population which was eighteen and older.
Demographics from Census 2000
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 389 people, 153 households, and 95 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 14.7 people per square mile (5.7/km
2). There were 168 housing units at an average density of 6.3/sq mi (2.4/km
2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 20.31%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 76.61%
Native American, 0.26% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.83% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.54% of the population. 6.5% were of German ancestry according to
Census 2000
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...
. 100.0% spoke English as their first language.
There were 153 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.7% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.31.
In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,375, and the median income for a family was $42,000. Males had a median income of $37,292 versus $23,194 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $14,728. About 11.0% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 26.3% of those age 65 or over.
References
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Ferry County, Washington
Census-designated places in Washington (state)
Populated places in the Okanagan Country
Washington (state) populated places on the Columbia River