The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe is a
federally recognized
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...
Native American tribe located in the state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. Before European colonization, the tribe occupied lands along the
Skagit River
The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000 ...
, from as far downstream as present-day
Mount Vernon, Washington
Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,219 at the 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
, and villages going north as far as
Newhalem
Newhalem (''Lushootseed'': dxʷʔiyb) is a small unincorporated community in northwestern Washington, United States, located in the western foothills of the North Cascades along the Skagit River. It is located within Whatcom County.
Descr ...
along the Skagit River, as well as lands on the
Baker
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains ...
, and the
Sauk rivers.
Culturally, the Upper Skagit share characteristics with the
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 Sw ...
and the
Coast Salish
The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the C ...
, as well as the
Plateau Indians on the eastern side of the
Cascade Mountains
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
. They traditionally spoke
Lushootseed
Lushootseed (txʷəlšucid, dxʷləšúcid), also Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish or Skagit-Nisqually, is a language made up of a dialect continuum of several Salish tribes of modern-day Washington state. Lushootseed is one of the Coast Sali ...
, part of the
Salishan
The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). They are characterised ...
language family. It was spoken by many coastal tribes of the Northwest.
Upper Skagit Indian Reservation
The Upper Skagit Indian Reservation consists of three separate small parcels of land in western
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 Skagit ...
. The largest section, located northeast of Sedro Woolley, is at , while the smaller western sections are at (the section where the casino is), and at , about midway between
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
and
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
, BC on Interstate Highway 5
. The total land area is approximately 100
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
s (0.404686 km²). Its resident population was 238 persons as of the
2000 census.
The Tribe owns several successful businesses includin
The Skagit Casino Resortwith th
EncoreThe Market Buffetan
Express Eatsrestaurants, Th
Skagit Ridge Hotel Bow Hill Gas and Food Mart, and the Highway 20 Hometown Pharmacy.
See also
*
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 Sw ...
Notes
References
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External links
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe official website
The Skagit Casino ResortEncoreThe Market BuffetExpress EatsSkagit Ridge HotelUpper Skagit Tribe NW Indian Fisheries Commission
Upper Skagit Tribe NW Portland Indian Health Board
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History of Washington (state)
Lushootseed language
Native American tribes in Washington (state)