This article is about the federally-recognized tribe. For the ethnic group, see Swinomish people. For the reservation goverened by the Swinomish Tribe, see Swinomish Reservation.
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Location of the Swinomish Tribe
The predecessor bands of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. The Samish are also succeeded by the Samish Indian Nation.
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, also known as the Swinomish Tribe, is a federally recognized tribe located on Puget Sound in Washington state. Swinomish is a legal successor to signatories of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. Its Reservation is located 65 miles North of Seattle, Washington on Fidalgo Island.The tribe's population is primarily composed of Swinomish, Lower Skagit, Kikiallus, and Samish peoples and their descendants. Other populations on the reservation include the Suquamish and Upper Skagit.[1]
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.[2]
In 1855, the ancestral bands gathered at Point Elliott (Lushootseed: bək̓ʷəɬtiwʔ) along with many other tribes. They were party to the Treaty of Point Elliott.[2] Under the terms of the treaty, the Swinomish Reservation was established for the tribes in the area.[3] 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, [4] 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.[5] To this day, the Swinomish Tribe asserts their claim on the land which was depicted in original treaty maps.[6][7]
In 1971, the Indian Claims Commission 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.[1]
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.[8]
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 and the Marathon Anacortes Refinery, that operate on their lands.[9]
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 of 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 of 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.[10]
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.[1]
The Swinomish Tribe is governed by the Swinomish Senate, an 11 member, democratically-elected body.[2][11] 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.[2] Each senator serves as the chair and vice-chair of at least one board or committee.[12] 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.[13]
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.[12]
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.[12]
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. .[2] Cladoosby succeeded Robert W. Joe in 1997.[14] Robert W. Joe was elected in 1978.[15]
Former Chair Brian Cladoosby (right) giving a tour of the Swinomish Reservation to former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy
The Tribe's headquarters is in Swinomish Village[d] 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.[16]
Swinomish Reservation
Sign at the entrance to the Swinomish Indian Reservation
The reservation was established in 1855 by the Treaty of Point Elliot.[18] Today, the reservation is about 15 square miles (39km2; 9,600 acres) in area,[19] 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.[20]
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 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.[21]
In 2023, BNSF spilled 3,100 gallons of diesel onto the Swinomish Reservation due to a train derailment.[22]
Prominent sites on the Swinomish Reservation include:
Swadabs Park, on Swinomish Channel: 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 83 acres (34ha) spanning three islands, with more than two miles (3.2km) of natural shoreline, and is adjacent to 38 acres (15ha) of Swinomish-owned tidelands.Fidalgo Island with the Swinomish Indian Reservation in the background
Demographics
The Swinomish Tribe has 1,439 enrolled members according to their own figures. The majority of the population lives in the community of Swinomish Village[d] on reservation lands.[8] Another large percent of members reside off the reservation, in nearby Skagit County.[23]
The Swinomish traditionally cultivated clam gardens and are reviving the practice to build climate resilience. Global warming and its effects, such as ocean acidification, 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.[26] In 2022, the Swinomish built the first traditional clam garden in the United States in 200 years at Kiket Island. The clam gardens can produce four times as many clams than unterraced beaches.[27]
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.[28]
Canoe arriving at Swinomish (2008)
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.[9] 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.[29] 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,[30] didgʷálič Wellness Center,[31] three Swinomish Markets locations,[32] Salish Coast Cannabis,[33] and Swinomish Shellfish Company.[34]
Swinomish has become one of the five largest employers in Skagit County with over 350 employees in tribal government and approximately 600 employees in its casino and other economic enterprises.[35]
The tribe offers educational, childcare, and health services as well. The Swinomish Tribe built a 1,375 square feet (127.7m2) healthcare center, the Swinomish Tribal Health Center.[9]
The tribe belongs to the Skagit River Cooperative, which was formed in 1976. The goals of the cooperative are to regulate and enhance fishing in the Skagit River watershed.[9] 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.[36] 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.
The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, also known as the Muckleshoot Tribe, is a federally-recognized tribe located in Auburn, Washington. The tribe governs the Muckleshoot Reservation and is composed of descendants of the Duwamish, Stkamish, Smulkamish, Skopamish, Yilalkoamish, and Upper Puyallup peoples. The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe was formally established in 1936, after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, but its origins lie in the creation of the Muckleshoot Reservation in 1874 and the treaties of Medicine Creek (1854) and Point Elliott (1855).
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 Indian tribe, which has been indigenous to the area prior to European-American settlement.
The Squaxin Island Tribe is a federally recognized tribe located in Mason County, Washington. They are descended from several Southern Coast Salish peoples, including the Squaxin, Sahewamish, T'Peeksin, Squiaitl, Stechass, and Nusechatl.
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington, formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. They are South and Central Coast Salish peoples of indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their tribes are located in the mid-Puget Sound region of Washington.
The Duwamish are a Lushootseed-speaking Southern Coast Salish people in western Washington, and the Indigenous people of metropolitan Seattle.
The Sauk-SuiattleIndian Tribe is a federally-recognized tribe of Sauk people located in western Washington state. The tribe historically lived along the banks of the Sauk, Suiattle, Cascade, Stillaguamish, and Skagit rivers, in the area known as Sauk Prairie at the foot of Whitehorse Mountain in the North Cascade Range.
The LummiNation is a federally-recognized tribe of primarily Lummi people. The Lummi Nation also includes some Nooksack, Samish, and other local tribes which were removed to the reservation. It is based in the coastal area of the Pacific Northwest region of Washington state in the United States, and is located within the Bellingham Metropolitan Area
The Swinomishpeople are a Lushootseed-speaking people Indigenous to western Washington state.
The Samish are a Native American people who live in the U.S. state of Washington. They are a Central Coast Salish people. Through the years, they were assigned to reservations dominated by other Tribes, for instance, the Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation of Washington and the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation. They are also enrolled in the Samish Indian Nation, formerly known as the Samish Indian Tribe, which regained federal recognition in 1996.
The Sammamish people are a Lushootseed-speaking Southern Coast Salish people. They are indigenous to the Sammamish River Valley in central King County, Washington. The Sammamish speak Lushootseed, a Coast Salish language which was historically spoken across most of Puget Sound, although its usage today is mostly reserved for cultural and ceremonial practices.
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 Puget Sound region in the recently formed Washington Territory, one of about thirteen treaties between the U.S. and Native Nations in what is now Washington. The treaty was signed on January 22, 1855, at Muckl-te-oh or Point Elliott, now Mukilteo, Washington, and ratified 8 March and 11 April 1859. Between the signing of the treaty and the ratification, fighting continued throughout the region. Lands were being occupied by European-Americans since settlement in what became Washington Territory began in earnest from about 1845.
The Intertribal Canoe Journey is a celebrated event of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Organizers call it the Canoe Journey or Intertribal Canoe Journey, and colloqually Tribal Journeys. It is also referred to by its destination, i.e. Paddle to Muckleshoot.
The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe is a federally-recognized Indian tribe located in the U.S. state of Washington. The tribe is the successor-in-interest to approximately eleven historic tribes which had many permanent villages along the Skagit River in what is now Skagit County.
The Coast Salish are 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 Coast Salish languages. The Nuxalk nation are usually included in the group, although their language is more closely related to Interior Salish languages.
The Lower Skagit 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 Swinomish Reservation.
The Samish Indian Nation is a federally-recognized tribe of Samish people located in Skagit County, Washington. The Samish Indian Nation is a signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855 and has a government-to-government relationship with the United States of America. The Samish are a Northern Straits branch of Central Coast Salish peoples. The Samish Nation is headquartered in Anacortes, Fidalgo Island, in Washington, north of Puget Sound.
The Swinomish Indian Reservation is the reservation of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, located on Fidalgo Island in western Washington state. The western boundary of the reservation is disputed between the Swinomish Tribe and the United States government. De facto, the reservation is around 15 square miles in size. It comprises a substantial portion of the eastern portion of Fidalgo Island. The total reservation population in 2000 was 2,664.
The Kikiallus people are a Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish people Indigenous to parts of western Washington.
Brian Cladoosby is a Native American leader and activist. He served as chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community from 1997 to 2020 and was elected to his first of two terms as president of the National Congress of American Indians in October 2013. He previously served as president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.
The Nuwhaha were a historical Lushootseed-speaking people in the Skagit River valley of Washington. The Nuwhaha primarily lived along the Samish River, as well as the coastal areas between Bay View and Bellingham.
↑ "Swinomish Tribe."Archived September 6, 2013, at the Wayback MachineNorthwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. Retrieved September 16, 2013. A dental clinic is located nearby.
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