Skookum

[skoo-kuhm]

Skookum is a Chinook jargon word that has come into general use in British Columbia and Yukon Territory in Canada, and in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

The word skookum has three meanings:

a word in regional English that has a variety of positive connotations;
a monster; similar to the sasquatch
a souvenir doll once common in the Mountain States

Principal meaning

It has a range of positive meanings. As described in the FAQ from Skookum Tools Ltd. {skookum}, the word can have meanings from "'good,' to 'strong,' 'best,' 'powerful,' 'ultimate' and 'first rate.' Something can be skookum meaning 'cool' or skookum can be 'tough.' A skookum burger is a big (or really tasty) hamburger, but when your Mom's food is skookum, it's delicious but also hearty [...] When you're skookum, you've got a purpose and you're on solid ground."

Being called skookum may also mean that someone can be counted on as reliable and hard-working, or is big and strong. In a perhaps slightly less positive vein, 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 Jargon, skookum is also used as a verb auxiliary, as in "can" or "to be able". Another compound, though fallen out of use in modern BC English, is skookum lacasset, or strongbox.

A related word skookumchuck means turbulent water or rapids in a stream or river, i.e. "strong water" ("chuck" is Chinook Jargon for "water" or "stream" or "lake"). There are three placenames in British Columbia using this word, one of them for a famous saltwater rapid at the mouth of Sechelt Inlet, the others at rapids on the Lillooet and Columbia Rivers. While the rapid at the mouth of Sechelt Inlet is the Skookumchuck on the coast, the term is used in a general sense for other patches of rough water, typically tidal-exchange rapids at the mouths of other inlets or bays, which are a regular feature of the British Columbia Coast.

Other uses

In another usage, a skookum is a variety of mountain giant or monster, similar to the Sasquatch or Bigfoot. In the surviving Chinuk-Wawa spoken in Grand Ronde, Oregon, 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. A derivative usage of the skookum-as-monster context was the application of the name to a local souvenir doll, simply called "a skookum", once common in truck stops and local retailers in eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana.
Skookum, either alone or in the combination skookumchuck, occurs in dozens of placenames throughout the Pacific Northwest region and beyond. A short form used with personal names, "Skook", is found on the map of British Columbia at Mount Skook Davidson near the confluence of the Kechika and Gataga Rivers in northern British Columbia and Mount Skook Jim, near the head of the Stein River in the northern Lillooet Ranges 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.
There is also a breed of purebred cat called a Skookum. The name has also been used for a hard rock band in Vancouver and also a jazz group in Nottingham, England.
Skookums is also the name of the companion dog in Ernest Thompson Seton's book "Rolf in the Woods" published by Gossett and Dunlap in 1911. Rolf is a lad that runs away from abusive family to live in the woods with his Indian friend Quonab. He ends as a scout in the war of 1812. The Dog "Skookums" is an integral part of this story.
Skookum dolls were popular from the early 1920s until the 1960s. They were factory made dolls that resembled Native American people. They were sold to the tourists at trading posts in the Western United States. The early 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 head dresses. The sizes of the dolls ranged from babies inside of cradle boards to large, human size store display dolls. The general 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. 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.