KWINA's HISTORY
LUMMI NATION KWINA HISTORY
"Take Wisdom of Hummingbird and Learn to Fly with Loving Motion Salish People."
Qui-ench Chief Henry Kwina
Qui-ench High Chief Henry Kwina, Founder of Lummi Nation 1834-1926.
In loving memory of Chief Henry Kwina Xwelmi, this is dedicated to Truth in Love for our People! Let the Light of the Past, Present and Future Open our eyes in Xa'al's (Creator's) Love Come Alive, Come Alive. A'ho!
My People walk in Light and Let Creator's Divine Love Guide you!
The Kwina Sche'lang'en is the Hereditary Qui-ench Chieftain bloodline of the "Nuh Lummis" of the Salish Territory by succession of the Kwina bloodline.
Sche'lang'en is Sovereign by way of Life and Knowing, Transferred by Oral Law.
By mind and heart deeply do we meditate in our Kwina Sche'lang'en as law in Sovereignty.
Sche'lang'en means our "ways of life, culture, tradition, custom and spiritual practice. This is our purpose being Amerindians connected to Creator through
Earth and Sky. We are born naturally in birthright through The Sacred for our Sche'lang'en.
Direct Blood Kwina is an Amerindian ancient blood family who comes from many generations of Successive Hereditary Chieftain. Kwina Sche'lang'en Tradition held leading Qui-ench Chieftain by immediate Lummi Kwina family by in position from Sub-Chiefs to Head Chief and more so as The "Qui-ench" as King, Judge and Priest. Kwina historically lead the Lummi People for hundreds of years before the "Quiench" Chief Henry announced as the "last Hereditary Chief of Lummi," by description to Chief Henry Kwina who being addressed with direct acknowledgement, from U.S. Federal Congress as The Qui-ench.
Consequently, Kwina's Succession was extinguished by political church agenda. Historically with the Kwina Chieftain bloodline, immediate Kwina remained alive after Chief Kwina's death, so it left the Lummi People to wonder what happened to the Chieftain bloodline historically. Wondering how Chief Henry's eldest son Peter Kwina didn't become Qui-ench and Head Chief knowing Kwina Ancient Sche'lang'en...
And the answer dwells with 13 children.
...Kwina's Sche'lang'en was broken by direct political affair. The military wanted Chief Henry Kwina to be "removed from the reservation" after an argument with the Protestant Church regarding the removal of 13 children from Lummi Nation for Boarding School, and in this struggle this broke ties as Chief this fight, and this fight, broke Chief Kwina from natural Chieftainship, which devastated the consequences of the future concerning all of Lummi Nation's Historic Chieftain bloodline.
...In the advent of this event through Chief Henry's struggle for the 13 children to remain on Lummi Reservation, by fate Chief Henry Kwina found refuge and strength in the Catholic Church to contend with those around by position to answer their affairs, and this included the extending reality with different denominations of churches so also who were fighting over which schooling systems to attend with regard for the 13 Lummi children selected for the Salem boarding school.
Factually and this "church fight" brought political tension, and this cost Chief Henry to stand with the Catholic Church for these 13 Lummi children to remain at home on the reservation. Each church had involvement in this historic fight by intention, including with the additional military power who arose concerning with influence to call for decision of Chief Henry Kwina for his affirmative actions to stand against the removal of the 13 children along with the Catholic Church. And this incident concreted a relationship with the Catholic Church for the rest of Lummi's history for the Kwina Chieftain Qui-ench bloodline; however this union with church and state by political affair extinguished the Kwina line quietly after being removed by overwhelming political powers that arose like waves of the sea over the next few decades before and after Chief Henry Kwina's death in 1926.
Facts are with total devestation, history records U.S. Congress in statement regarding our "last Hereditary Chief of Lummi," who was "Qui-ench." Yes, The Qui-ench had been softly extinguished due to his protective nature over the removal of Lummi children for a distant boarding school, and this affect fractured Lummi Nation; the effect was lasting in history for Lummi Kwina Chieftain bloodlines. The exchange with the Church's illegal installation with Chieftain Sche'lang'en Traditions changed everything. This exchange in Chieftain Sche'lang'en was an illegal act for Lummi Nation's Spirit and Destiny from this point on after the installation of Chief Martin from the Muckleshoot Tribe.
Extending with the Catholic Church landing on the opposite end on this tragic event with the 13 children for power, this too, and for the accepting of the taking in our bloodlines for Chieftain, the exchange was in an illegal installation of August Martin in 1913, by fact, took place by and through the Catholic Church 13 years before Chief Henry Kwina had passed away in death in 1926.
...But before the Qui-ench Chief Henry passed away, he as Qui-ench Chief Kwina was left with political affair on multiple fronts that ended up clipping his wings, and Lummi Nation was under scrutiny, with our youth under examination and labeled as "wayward" inside our deeply understood Native marriages in practice that was deemed "illicit,"and was ripped away from family to be commandeered for church and state assimilation, adding, with federal government truncating Lummi's cultural ways and life judged as illegal with life and living in cultural enliven in actual practice and band, this changed everything for life in the Lummi People and especially for Chieftain Qui-ench Kwina being the Last Hereditary Chief in Lummi Nation's history noted by U.S. Congress.
With the U.S. Military stepping in after a fight with two different denominations of churches in their own opinion over 13 Lummi children on the Lummi reservation to contend for influence, it left Chief Henry Kwina with little reach for support, so instead he found refuge and strength in the Catholic Church after they clipped his wings as Chieftain who were involved with changing power structure and societal norms for Lummi People by way of Sche'lang'en.
Outwardly, Chief Henry became what so many saw him as, knew him as historically, yes, as the "Catholic Chief," but too many, little did they know it was to appease and please his captures! This is the deeper story. Catholicism was taught by Qui-ench Chief Kwina's Uncle Chow-its-Hoot as a survival tool, and this was passed around to all of our Salish Chieftain historically too, as our direct family Chief Seattle makes special word of this exact "religious" experience.
...Traumatic history is excruciating in a dual reality bleeding through Chief Kwina's eyes, deep trauma occurred historically and this broke Lummi Nation along with their Chieftain bloodline as fact. Interestingly along with this history, The Catholic Church protected Lummi Nation in ways no one could of seen coming, the Catholic Church brought a lot of Lummi famlies protection many held onto and still until this day.
Chief Henry Kwina was deeply traditional, loyal, and caring for his People; Qui-ench Chief Henry cared for his friends with true heart.
"Love through Work" and "Purpose in Love" in Spirit of Kwina Oral Tradition through Creator's Devine Law is this never ending story. The Divine Right of Qui-ench is through the Laws of Love in Light of Creator's Kingdom.
The Divine Right that which stands through and through Kwina Kainai is The Presence in The Great Testimony.
The Great Ancient stories of The Henry Kwina family holds layers of Sche'lang'en to apply by Family Tradition and Spiritual Practice in the extension of presence in Cultural Custom and being a Constitutional Monarch as "Qui-ench."
The Meaning of Qui-ench:
"Qui-ench" is attributed to the Kwina bloodline.
"Qui-ench" means it is a Divine Birthright.
Qui-ench means: "Judge, Priest and King."
Qui-ench stands as a Constitutional Monarch Emperor.
Forthright, Kwina Henry's Family Spiritual Practice and through our Kwina Sche'lang'en teaches us by Direct Descendent Hereditary bloodlines is by and through direct Kwina, this is is not a governed choice but only through channel of birthright.
Qui-ench is by Birthright in succession through direct Kwina bloodline.
Laws of Direct Descendent applies at Lummi Nation by Natural Law.
Kwina who is naturally born as a direct descendents through direct Kwina is a Direct Descendent. The Kwina Sche'lang'en is historically backed and orally correct to stand with historic facts, adding, witness and testimony along with newspapers publications, interviews with our Beloved Qui-ench Henry Kwina speaking directly by mouth in Title, and likewise with reflection U.S. Congress in acknowledgement for the Qui-ench Chief Henry Kwina.
Oral Tradition and Sacred Kwina Sche'lang'en by traditional custom in practice is The "Qui-ench" by Title in Sovereignty.
U.S. Congress records historical reference exacting Chief Henry Kwina being "Qui-ench" who by is stated "the last hereditary chief of Lummi."
Qui-ench Chief Henry Kwina is the Hereditary Chieftain bloodline of Lummi Nation as well as the Founder of Lummi Nation. Chief Henry Kwina is directly a descendent of the Kwina family who along too signed the Elliott Treaty of 1855. And after, Nuh Lummi was given to Chief Henry Kwina as The Founder of Lummi Nation. Chief Henry Kwina is the reason why Lummi Nation exists, not any other Chief in history can say the same, except for the succession belongs to divine in Kwina: Chief Henry Kwina is the Savior in Saving the only few left of Lummi Nation historically and then literally rebuilt our Nation from ground zero! Our literally existence is because of Chief Henry Kwina, because after all, he saved our bloodlines and why we even exist today as a Nation!
Direct Kwina suffered great trauma historically. Kwina took the brunt of war, invasion, famine, migration, disease, death, and endless struggling and the destruction of all we once knew in a fast changing world encompassing from a world unscathed without the endless soil of European "reality" so too save the remaining! and in this work, we lost children to programs of the denominations of churches, military, and state interests. And the like the remaining survivors, Kwina has endured brutal historic trauma, and by this bloodline this emerges from the ashes historically along with only 5 remaining pure Lummi bloodlines in 1894.
Kwina means "Mighty Chief" or in the modern language for the Salish Blackfoot Kainai means [Blood] Nation and its origin originates in the Salish Blackfoot language term Káínaa, meaning "Many Chief people." Kainai actually means "Blood" to expand the importance in emphasis on Chieftain Blood lines.
Qui-ench Kwina:
"Qui-ench" means Priest, Judge and King.
Adding in Spanish "Quienchus" the word used means “ Santa Fe” or 'Holy Faith' in Spanish, it means holy.
Quienchus example:
“quiero ver con (not) quiench(holy) ateo” means "I want to see who's an atheist."
And interestingly, the holy kohen themselves fled to Spain and Mexico historically as fact with the same connotation in meaning.
Lummi Nation and The Kwina:
- Kwina Patii or Kwina Patü = "north place."
- Kwina = Priest. Likewise, for Israel kohanim (the plural of kohen) = Priest. Adding an interesting fact that in the early 19th century a linguist had come and observed Lummi's language and noticed ancient Hebrew presence immediately took note. Adding with too many countless Authors by reference who by mention the Salish People being the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel.
Lummi Nation we believe: Che Shesh Whe Wheleq sen Siam!
Which means: “I am a survivor of the Great Flood.”
Xwlemi means "Lummi" and/or the Creator's Lummi People.
We are Xa'al's Xwlemi Chosen.