HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, also known as the Swinomish Tribe, is a
federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...
located on
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
in
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
state. Swinomish is a legal successor to signatories of the 1855
Treaty of Point Elliott The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as the Treaty of Point Elliot / Point Elliot Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes of the greater ...
. Its Reservation is located 65 miles North of Seattle, Washington on Fidalgo Island.The tribe's population is primarily composed of Swinomish,
Lower Skagit The Lower Skagit (sometimes called Whidbey Island Skagits) are a tribe of the Lushootseed Native American people living in the U.S. state of Washington. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Swinomish Indians of the S ...
, Kikiallus, and
Samish The Samish people are a Central Coast Salish people, who live in the U.S. state of Washington. It may also refer to: Places * Lake Samish in Whatcom County * Samish Bay in Puget Sound * Samish River * Samish Island, Washington, an unincorporated ...
peoples and their descendants. Other populations on the reservation include the
Suquamish The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Su ...
and
Upper Skagit The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe () is a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, federally-recognized Indian tribe located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The tribe is the successor-in-interest to ap ...
.


History

The origins of the Swinomish Tribe are rooted in the various indigenous communities which make up the population of the Swinomish Tribe, including the Swinomish, Samish, Kikiallus, and Lower Skagit. The ancestral bands of the tribe originated in the Skagit and Samish river valleys and nearby coastal areas, including Fidalgo, Whidbey, Camano, and the San Juan islands. In 1855, the ancestral bands gathered at Point Elliott () along with many other tribes. They were party to the
Treaty of Point Elliott The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as the Treaty of Point Elliot / Point Elliot Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes of the greater ...
. Under the terms of the treaty, the
Swinomish Reservation The Swinomish Indian Reservation is the Indian reservation, reservation of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, located on Fidalgo Island in western Washington (state), Washington state. The western boundary of the reservation is disputed betw ...
was established for the tribes in the area. In 1873, President Ulysses S. Grant issued an Executive Order which attempted to unilaterally change the western boundary of the Swinomish Reservation, removing March Point and surrounding areas from the Swinomish Reservation, which began a boundary dispute between the Swinomish Tribe and the United States. The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that only Congress – not a President - can reduce the size of a reservation. To this day, the Swinomish Tribe asserts their claim on the land which was depicted in original treaty maps. In 1971, the
Indian Claims Commission The Indian Claims Commission (ICC) was a judicial relations arbiter between the United States federal government and Native American tribes. It was established under the Indian Claims Act of 1946 by the United States Congress to hear any longstandin ...
denied a Swinomish petition to alter the boundaries of the reservation. The Swinomish Tribe had requested the western boundary of the reservation to be restored as was promised under the Treaty of Point Elliott, even though the reservation had been slightly enlarged by the 1873 declaration changing the border. On July 6, 1972, the Swinomish Tribe was awarded $29,000 by the Indian Claims Commission, in return for the land that they had ceded. The Commission determined that the United States had paid the Swinomish an "unconscionably low" amount, and the Swinomish Tribe requested the difference between the amount already paid and the value of the land according to today's market value. In 2008, the Tribe produced a documentary called ''March Point'', which follows three Swinomish teenagers investigating the effects of the oil refineries, the
Puget Sound Refinery The Puget Sound Refinery is an oil refinery on March Point near Anacortes, Washington, United States. It is operated by HF Sinclair and is one of the largest employers in Skagit County. The refinery has a capacity of 145,000 barrels a day, maki ...
and the Marathon Anacortes Refinery, that operate on their lands.


BNSF lawsuit

In September 2012, the Tribe learned from media reports that “unit trains” of 100 railcars or more were beginning to cross the Reservation. By April 2015, BNSF was reportedly running six 100-car “unit trains” per week across the Reservation, more than four times as many railcars daily as permitted by the easement. The tracks are adjacent to the Tribe's economic center, including a hotel, casino, gas station, and cannabis dispensary. The intended development of this economic center was one of the primary reasons for the limitation of the number of trains and cars incorporated into the easement. The Tribe filed suit against BNSF in April 2015, for violating the terms of the easement agreement. The United States District Court in Seattle ruled early in the Tribe's 2015 lawsuit that BNSF had breached the easement agreement when “BNSF neither apprised the Tribe of its cargo nor obtained the Tribe’s written agreement to an increase in the number of trains and the number of cars in those trains.” BNSF argued that its obligations to its shippers – in this instance, two refineries located on March Point near Anacortes – superseded its obligation to the Tribe under the easement agreement. After the District Court issued an order upholding the Tribe's rights in 2017, BNSF filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In a 2020 decision, the Court of Appeals rejected BNSF's argument. Following the decision of the Court of Appeals, the District Court ruled in 2022 that the trespass was intentional and conducted a trial in March 2023 to determine whether BNSF's trespass over the Swinomish Reservation between September 2012 and May 2021 was also willful, conscious, and knowing, which would allow the tribe to seek disgorgement of BNSF's ill-gotten gains. Following the three-day trial, the Court found that BNSF's trespass on the Reservation was indeed willful, conscious, and knowing. The District Court then scheduled a trial that began June 3, 2024 to determine BNSF's wrongful financial gain from its trespass on the Swinomish Reservation. In a ruling issued on June 6, 2024, District Court Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered that BNSF disgorge total trespass profits of $394,517,169 to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Specifically, the Court ordered that BNSF disgorge net profits of $362,267,169 attributable to its trespass across the Swinomish Reservation from September 2012 to May 2021. In addition, the Court ordered that BNSF disgorge a further amount of $32,250,000, representing the use value of the aftertax profits arising from the trespass. Taken together, the disgorgement amounts resulted in the total judgment against BNSF and in favor of Swinomish of $394,517,169.


Government and politics

The Swinomish Tribe and its constitution were established on January 27, 1936, following the Indian Reorganization Act of 1935, which encouraged tribes to reform their governments. The Swinomish Tribe is governed by the Swinomish Senate, an 11-member, democratically elected body. Senators serve staggered five-year terms. Every year there is an election for two seats, and every five years, there is an election for three seats. Each senator serves as the chair and vice-chair of at least one board or committee. The chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer form the executive committee and are elected annually within the senate. The executive committee, with a majority vote of approval from the senate, selects representatives to serve on the tribe's remaining thirty committees, boards, and commissions. You must be at least 21 years old and a Swinomish member or staff, or have proven affiliation with the Swinomish Tribe to serve on a committee. The Senate governs through nineteen committees, as well as ten boards and commissions. The committees do not have the authority to govern in and of themselves, but instead make recommendations to the Senate. The boards and committees operate independently from the Swinomish Tribe and Swinomish Senate. The General Council is the public body of the Swinomish Tribe's citizenry. The council is composed of all voting-age citizens. Each year following the senate elections, the General Council meets in February to observe the swearing in of newly elected senators and the election of executive officers, engage in discourse with the Swinomish Senate, and provide input regarding annual goals for the Swinomish Tribe. The Swinomish Tribe is governed by the chair of the Swinomish Senate. The chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer are elected by the members of the Swinomish Senate. The current chair of the Swinomish Tribe is Steve Edwards, who was elected as chairman in 2020. in the aftermath of the former chairman, Brian Cladoosby, losing his bid for reelection. . Cladoosby succeeded Robert W. Joe in 1997. Robert W. Joe was elected in 1978. The Tribe's headquarters is in at 11404 Moorage Way, La Conner, WA 98257. The Swinomish Medical Center provides healthcare services for local Native Americans. Opened in 2000, the clinic building also houses a fitness center and diabetes program."Swinomish Tribe."
''Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.'' Retrieved September 16, 2013. A dental clinic is located nearby.


Swinomish Reservation

The Swinomish Indian Reservation is the
reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...
and land body of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. The reservation is located on Puget Sound, on the southeastern side of
Fidalgo Island Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass. The island is named afte ...
in
Skagit County, Washington Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Upper and ...
. It is located on the
Swinomish Channel The Swinomish Channel is an long salt-water channel in Washington state, United States, which connects Skagit Bay to the south and Padilla Bay to the north, separating Fidalgo Island from mainland Skagit County. The Swinomish Channel is the s ...
, across from
La Conner, Washington La Conner is a town in Skagit County, Washington, United States with a population of 965 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon– Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. History La Conner was first sett ...
. The reservation was established in 1855 by the Treaty of Point Elliot. Today, the reservation is about in area, however the borders of the reservation are disputed by the Swinomish Tribe. The total reservation population according to the 2020 United States census was 3,228, representing tribal and non-tribal residents. The Seattle and Northern Railroad Company constructed a rail line over the reservation in 1889 without permission from the tribe. The line is operated by
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
under a 1991 easement agreement allowing for only one eastern bound train, and one western bound train of twenty-five cars or less to cross the Reservation each day. In 2023, BNSF spilled 3,100 gallons of diesel onto the Swinomish Reservation due to a train derailment. Prominent sites on the Swinomish Reservation include: * Swadabs Park, on
Swinomish Channel The Swinomish Channel is an long salt-water channel in Washington state, United States, which connects Skagit Bay to the south and Padilla Bay to the north, separating Fidalgo Island from mainland Skagit County. The Swinomish Channel is the s ...
: The park features three pavilions resembling woven cedar hats, interpretive panels, and a native plant garden. The park was developed for the 2011 Canoe Journey/Paddle to Swinomish. Canoe races also take place here in the channel. * Kukutali Preserve: the first Tribal State Park in the history of the United States to be co-owned and jointly managed by a federally recognized Native Nation and a state government. The preserve is entirely on the Swinomish Reservation and encompasses spanning three islands, with more than of natural shoreline, and is adjacent to of Swinomish-owned tidelands.


Demographics

The Swinomish Tribe has 1,439 enrolled members according to their own figures. The majority of the population lives in the community of on reservation lands. Another large percent of members reside off the reservation, in nearby Skagit County. Most members of the community are
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.


Culture

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
is the most-commonly spoken language by Swinomish citizens. Some elders speak Swinomish (also known as Skagit), a dialect of the
Lushootseed language Lushootseed ( ), historically known as Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish, or Skagit-Nisqually, is a Central Coast Salish language of the Salishan language family. Lushootseed is the general name for the dialect continuum composed of two main di ...
, which is part of the Coast Salish language family."Skagit."
''Ethnologue.'' Retrieved September 16, 2013.
Some also spoke
Samish The Samish people are a Central Coast Salish people, who live in the U.S. state of Washington. It may also refer to: Places * Lake Samish in Whatcom County * Samish Bay in Puget Sound * Samish River * Samish Island, Washington, an unincorporated ...
, another Coast Salish language. The Swinomish traditionally cultivated clam gardens and are reviving the practice to build
climate resilience Climate resilience is a concept to describe how well people or ecosystems are prepared to bounce back from certain climate hazard events. The formal definition of the term is the "capacity of social, economic and ecosystems to cope with a hazardou ...
.
Global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
and its effects, such as
ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ...
, affect the development of shells of marine animals vital to the Swinomish food supply. As such, the Swinomish consider Indigenous health indicators a metric of climate change. In 2022, the Swinomish built the first traditional clam garden in the United States in 200 years at
Kiket Island Kiket Island () is a small tied island in Washington, co-managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Located at Snee Oosh, less than northwest of the town of La Conner in Skagit Co ...
. The clam gardens can produce four times as many clams than unterraced beaches. The Swinomish hold the annual Swinomish Festival on Memorial Day. The festival includes stick-and-ball games, dancing, and a salmon bake. Additionally, the tribe celebrates the annual Treaty Days Celebration on the weekend nearest to January 22. They also hold the traditional First Salmon Ceremony each year, celebrating the beginning of the fishing season and protecting the fishermen of the community.


Economy and services

A number of tribal members rely on salmon fishing and shellfish harvesting for at least a portion of their livelihood. They have had conflicts with the federal government over fishing rights throughout the 20th century. Their fish harvests have dropped by more than 80% in the last two decades due to overly-high temperatures in the Skagit River. The Swinomish Tribe announced in February 2024 their plans to sue the EPA for failing to effectively reduce stream temperatures in the Skagit River watershed. Such traditional subsistence methods are no longer the sole means of support for many tribal families. In addition to these means, Swinomish owns and operates the Swinomish Casino & Lodge, didgʷálič Wellness Center, three Swinomish Markets locations, Salish Coast Cannabis, and Swinomish Shellfish Company. Swinomish has become one of the five largest employers in
Skagit County Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Upper and ...
with over 350 employees in tribal government and approximately 600 employees in its casino and other economic enterprises. The tribe offers educational, childcare, and health services as well. The Swinomish Tribe built a healthcare center, the Swinomish Tribal Health Center. The tribe belongs to the Skagit River System Cooperative, which was formed in 1976. The goals of the cooperative are to regulate and enhance fishing in the Skagit River watershed. The Swinomish Tribe also belongs to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, a natural resources management support service organization for 20 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington created following the 1974 U.S. v. Washington ruling (Boldt Decision) that re-affirmed the tribes’ treaty-reserved fishing rights. The ruling recognized the tribes as natural resources co-managers with the State of Washington with an equal share of the harvestable number of salmon returning annually.


Notable Swinomish citizens

* Brian Cladoosby, former chairman of the Swinomish Tribe and 21st president of the
National Congress of American Indians The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American Indian and Alaska Natives, Alaska Native Indigenous rights, rights organization. It was founded in 1944 to represent the tribes and resist U.S. ...
, as well as the president of the Association of Washington Tribes, executive board member of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, and president of the
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...
. * (1940–2021) former chair of the and Swinomish Tribe senator.


See also

*
List of Indian reservations in the United States This is a list of Indian reservations and other tribal homelands in the United States. In Canada, the List of Indian reserves in Canada, Indian reserve is a similar institution. Federally recognized reservations There are approximately 567 fed ...
* List of Indian reservations in Washington *
Northwest Indian College Northwest Indian College (Xwlemi Elh>Tal>Nexw Squl) is a Public college, public Tribal colleges and universities, tribal Land-grant university, land-grant community college in Bellingham, Washington, United States. It was established by the Lum ...
*
Port Madison Indian Reservation The Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation is a federally recognized tribe and Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Washington. The tribe includes Suquamish, Duwamish, and Sammamish peoples, all Lushootseed-speaking Indigen ...


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
official website {{Indigenous peoples in Washington Coast Salish governments Duwamish Native American tribes in Washington (state) Geography of Skagit County, Washington Federally recognized tribes in the United States Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast