Chief Scanewa had at least two wives, and the names of six of his children entered into the historical records.

Chief Scanewa’s daughter, Thasemuth, married Simon Plamondon, an employee of the Hudson Bay Company. She was baptized Veronica after the arrival of the priest. Scanewa’s youngest daughter, Mary (Lel Kwadot) married John McLeod of the Hudson Bay Company. His daughter Marguerite, about two years older than Mary, married Louis LeDoux in 1843 at the Cowlitz Mission. A number of the members of the current tribal council draw their matrilineal descent from these three women.

The Cowlitz River was a natural corridor from the Columbia River to the Puget Sound. Ever since the Hudson Bay Company had acquired charter to the area, and absorbed the holdings of the Northwest Company, it desired to trade along the Cowlitz River. In the mid 1820s, the Hudson Bay Company achieved its desires by convincing Chief Scanewa that the Hudson Bay Company should not be held responsible for the actions of the Northwest Company. Dr. John M McLoughlin was the Hudson Bay Company official responsible for opening negotiations with Chief Scanewa. Simon Plamondon was the person chosen to carry McLoughlin’s message to Scanewa.