Skookum is a Chinook Jargon word that has historical use in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. It has a range of meanings, commonly associated with an English translation of "strong" or "monstrous". The word can mean "strong", "greatest", "powerful", "ultimate", or "brave". Something can be ''skookum'', meaning "strong" or "monstrously significant". When used in reference to another person, ''e.g.'', "he's skookum", it conveys connotations of reliability or a monstrous nature, as well as strength, size or hard-working.

Derivative words

''Skookum house'' means 'jail' or 'prison' (cf. the English euphemism ''the big house'', but here meaning 'strong house'). ''Skookum tumtum'', lit. "strong heart", is generally translated as 'brave' or possibly 'good-hearted'. In the Chinook language, ''skookum'' is a verb auxiliary, used similarly to ''can'' or ''to be able''. Another compound, though fallen out of use in modern British Columbia English, is ''skookum lacasset'' or 'strongbox'. ''

Skookumchuck Skookumchuck () is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in Pacific Northwest English. '' Skookum'' means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so ''skookumchuck'' means "rapids" or "whitewa ...

'' means 'turbulent water' or 'rapids in a stream or river', literally 'strong water' (''chuck'' is Chinook Jargon for 'water', 'stream' or 'lake'). It is a common placename in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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 ...

and Idaho. The term is used for tidal-exchange rapids at the mouths of inlets and bays, a regular feature of the

Inside Passage The Inside Passage (french: Passage Intérieur) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeaster ...

, especially

Skookumchuck Narrows Skookumchuck Narrows is a strait forming the entrance of Sechelt Inlet on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast in Canada. Before broadening into Sechelt Inlet, all of its tidal flow together with that of Salmon Inlet and Narrows Inlet must pa ...

Monsters

A ''skookum'' is a variety of mountain

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

similar to the Sasquatch or

Bigfoot Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...

. In the surviving Chinuk-Wawa spoken in

Grand Ronde, Oregon Grand Ronde is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Polk and Yamhill counties, Oregon, United States. Historically noted as a village in Polk County, the sphere of influence and community is in both Polk and Yamhill cou ...

, this variant is pronounced differently—''skoo-KOOM''—but when used in English with this meaning, it is pronounced the same way as the "big and strong" meaning. Skookums were bad spirits or devils of which crows, eagles, owls, blue jays, various beasts and reptiles could be representations. They could inhabit people and cause serious illness.

Dolls

A derivative usage of the skookum-as-monster context was the application of the name to a souvenir

Skookum doll A Skookum doll was a Native American themed doll, sold as a souvenir item in the early 20th century. Although considered collectible, they are not authentic Native American dolls, as they were designed and created by a white woman, and quickly m ...

, sometimes simply called "a skookum". Mary McAboy first started making Skookum dolls in 1913 and received a patent for them in 1914. They were popular from the early 1920s until the 1960s. They were factory-made dolls that resembled Native American people and were sold to tourists at trading posts in the western United States. Early dolls heads were made of dried apples with the bodies made of wood and stuffed with either leaves, straw, twigs or grass stuffed in a muslin sack. Later the dolls were made from composition and had mohair wigs. Later dolls were made of plastic and had plastic brown shoes. They have "Indian style" blankets as part of their attire. Some had jewelry such as beaded necklaces or earrings. Some dolls have feathered headdresses. The sizes of the dolls ranged from babies inside of cradle boards to large, human size store display dolls. The rule of thumb is the larger the doll, the more valuable/rare they are. The most common sizes range from about seven inches to about 12 inches tall. Skookums were widely imitated. Minnetonka, Milbros or Minnehaha dolls are similar, but not the same. Most Skookum dolls were made so they look to the right. Skookums do not have arms: they are wrapped with blankets and have the suggestion of arms. Skookums never have gray hair, as in "elders". Skookums should have the words "Skookum" either stamped on their brown plastic shoes or a tag with "Skookum" on their foot in the case of the older versions.

Other uses

Skookum, either alone or in the combination skookumchuck, occurs in dozens of placenames throughout the Pacific Northwest region and beyond.* Marshall, Maureen E. ''Wenatchee's Dark Past''. Wenatchee, Wash: The Wenatchee World, 2008. A short form used with personal names, "Skook", is found on the map of British Columbia at

Mount Skook Davidson Mount Skook Davidson, , is a mountain in the Kechika Ranges of the Cassiar Mountains in far northern British Columbia, Canada. It overlooks the "Diamond J Ranch", which was founded by John Ogilvie Davidson also known as "Skook" Davidson or "Skook ...

near the confluence of the Kechika and

Gataga River The Gataga River is a river in the Northern Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is a tributary of the Kechika River The Kechika River is a tributary of the Liard River, about long, in northern British Columbia, Canada. The Kechika flows ge ...

s in northern

and

Mount Skook Jim Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, near the head of the Stein River in the northern

Lillooet Ranges The Lillooet Ranges are the southeasternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. They are located between the drainage of the Lillooet River and Harrison Lake on the west and the canyon of the Fraser Rive ...

between Pemberton and Lytton. Local lore in any area of British Columbia may have a Skookum Charlie or a Skookum Brown; the most famous of such nicknames was that of Skookum Jim, one of the co-discoverers of the Klondike goldfields in the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. It is also the name given to a 1909 Baldwin 2-4-4-2 Mallet type logging locomotive.

References

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