Chief Comcomly

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. He was friendly to the British and Euro-American explorers whom he encountered, including Robert Gray and George Vancouver. Concomly met Lewis and Clark in 1805 who awarded him with peace medals. thumb

Family

Concomly was reported to have several wives.

Comcomly's daughter Koale'xoa (also Raven or Princess Sunday), married Archibald McDonald a Scottish-born trader. 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. 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.