Samish Island, Washington

Last updated

Aerial view of Samish Island, with Samish Island Road at lower left connecting to the mainland Samish Island.jpg
Aerial view of Samish Island, with Samish Island Road at lower left connecting to the mainland

Samish Island is an unincorporated community in Skagit County, Washington, United States. It lies on an island 48°34′25″N122°31′48″W / 48.57361°N 122.53000°W / 48.57361; -122.53000 with the same name, which is located off the northwest coast of the Washington mainland. It is connected to the mainland by land reclaimed through a system of dikes created in the early 20th century.

Samish Island is named after the Samish people, a Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest. Both the Samish and the Nuwaha (a predecessor band of the Upper Skagit) used the island as part of their traditional territory. [1] The western end of the island is named Xwtl’échqs in the Samish language and sƛ̕əpqs in the Lushootseed language, both meaning "deepwater point" in the respective languages. The eastern end is named A7ts’íqen in Samish and qʷəqʷaliqs in Lushootseed. [2] The narrow isthmus connecting the two areas is named bəsbəsič, meaning "thin cords." [3]

In the late 19th century, the US Navy began to construct a series of dykes and drainage ditches to create a connection to the mainland. In the 1930s, the connection was finished. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salishan languages</span> Indigenous language family of western Canada and the US

The Salishan languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America. They are characterised by agglutinativity and syllabic consonants. For instance the Nuxalk word clhp’xwlhtlhplhhskwts’, meaning "he had had [in his possession] a bunchberry plant", has twelve obstruent consonants in a row with no phonetic or phonemic vowels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulalip Tribes</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauk-Suiattle</span> Federally-recognized Indian Tribe in Washington (state)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swinomish people</span>

The Swinomishpeople are a Lushootseed-speaking people Indigenous to western Washington state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast Salish languages</span> Branch of the Salishan languages of western North America

The Coast Salish languages, also known as the Central Salish languages, are a branch of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the Pacific Northwest, in the territory that is now known as the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington State around Puget Sound. The term "Coast Salish" also refers to the cultures in British Columbia and Washington who speak one of these languages or dialects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guemes Island</span> Small island in the Salish Sea, northwest Washington, United States

Guemes Island is a small island in western Skagit County, Washington, United States. It is located north of Fidalgo Island and the city of Anacortes, and is accessible by private boat and by the Guemes Island ferry operated by Skagit County.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padilla Bay</span> Bay in northwest Washington, United States

Padilla Bay is a bay located in the U.S. state of Washington, between the San Juan Islands and the mainland. Fidalgo Island and Guemes Island lie to the west of Padilla Bay. Guemes Channel, between the islands, connects Padilla Bay to Rosario Strait. Samish Island lies to the north of Padilla Bay, beyond which is Samish Bay and Bellingham Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Skagit Indian Tribe</span>

The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in the state of Washington. Before European colonization, the tribe occupied lands along the Skagit River, from as far downstream as present-day Mount Vernon, Washington, and villages going north as far as Newhalem along the Skagit River, as well as lands on the Baker, and the Sauk rivers.

The Samish people are a Central Coast Salish people, who live in the U.S. state of Washington. It may also refer to:

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snee Oosh, Washington</span> Place

Snee Oosh is a populated place on Fidalgo Island in the U.S. state of Washington, on the Swinomish Indian Reservation. The population was reported as 302 in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiket Island</span> Washingtonian islet

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 four miles (6.4 km) northwest of the town of La Conner in Skagit County, Washington, Kiket is connected to Fidalgo Island by a tombolo called sdᶻalgʷiɬ, over which runs an access road. The name "Kiket" is derived from the Lushootseed-language name of the island, kʷuʔkʷuʔtali. The name means "place of cattail mat." The small spit connecting the two is called sdᶻalgʷiɬ, 'changing canoes'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utsalady, Washington</span> Unincorporated community in Washington, US

Utsalady is an unincorporated community on the north shore of Camano Island, Island County, Washington, US. It is located within the Camano CDP. It has an elementary school, part of the Stanwood school system. The 1923 building of the Utsalady Ladies Aid is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington State Heritage Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians</span> Federally-recognized Indian Tribe

The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, formerly known as the Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington, is a federally recognized tribe of Stillaguamish people located in Snohomish County, Washington. They are descended from the aboriginal Stillaguamish, listed on the Treaty of Point Elliot as the Stoluck-wa-mish River Tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swinomish Indian Tribal Community</span> Federally recognized tribe in Washington (state)

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, also known as the Swinomish Tribe, is a federally recognized tribe located on Puget Sound in Washington state. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hat Island, Washington</span> CDP and Island in Puget Sound

Hat Island, also known as Gedney Island, is a small island in Possession Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. The island is covered by a census-designated place (CDP) that is part of Snohomish County. The population was 41 at the 2010 census. The island lies between the mainland city of Everett, Washington, and the southern part of Whidbey Island; it has a land area of 1.768 km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kikiallus people</span> Native American tribe

The Kikiallus people are a Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish people Indigenous to parts of western Washington.

References

  1. Sampson, Martin. Indians of Skagit County. Skagit County Historical Society.
  2. "Coast Salish Place Names of the San Juan Islands". Samish Indian Nation. January 24, 2023.
  3. Bates, Dawn; Hess, Thom; Hilbert, Vi. Lushootseed Dictionary. University of Washington Press.
  4. "About Samish Island | Samish Island Community Center" . Retrieved August 4, 2023.

48°34′33″N122°32′28″W / 48.57583°N 122.54111°W / 48.57583; -122.54111