Swinomish

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For other uses, see Swinomish (disambiguation).
La Conner, Washington, Swinomish Channel

The Swinomish /ˈswɪnəmɪʃ/ SWIN-ə-mish[1] are an historically Lushootseed-speaking Native American people in western Washington state in the United States. The Tribe lives in the southeastern part of Fidalgo Island in northern Puget Sound, near the San Juan Islands, in Skagit County, Washington. Skagit County is located about 70 miles (110 km) north of Seattle.

Swinomish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, also known as the Swinomish Tribe, which is headquartered in Swinomish Village, across the Swinomish Channel from La Conner.[2]

Language[]

The Swinomish people speak a dialect of the Salishan Lushootseed language.[3]

Culture[]

A skate from the Swinomish fishtrap, Tulalip Indian Agency, Washington, 1938

The lifestyle of the Swinomish, like many Northwest Coast indigenous peoples, involves the fishing of salmon and collecting of shellfish. They reserved the right to fish and harvest in their usual and accustomed areas in the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855.[4]

History[]

The Swinomish moved onto reservation lands after the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty in 1855.[4] The Swinomish police department was the second in the U.S.--and the first in Washington State—to be state-accredited.[5]

Native American Advocacy[]

The current Swinomish Chairman, Brian Cladoosby, is the 21st president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).[6]

Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation of Washington[]

  • "Dr. Joseph," chief traditional medicine man of the Swinomish Reservation, La Conner in 1907

  • "Old Joe" of La Conner in 1907[[Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation of Washington

Notes[]

  1. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 468. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4.
  2. ^ Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. (retrieved 28 July 2009)
  3. ^ Lushootseed Language (Whulshootseed, Puget Sound Salish). Native Languages of the Americas. (retrieved 28 July 2009)
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Mapes, Lynda V. "Swinomish are told to restrict shellfish." The Seattle Times. 19 April 2007 (retrieved 28 July 2009)
  5. ^ https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/native-news/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-swinomish-tribe/
  6. ^ http://www.ncai.org/about-ncai/ncai-leadership

External links[]

Coordinates: 48°24′05″N 122°31′37″W / 48.4014°N 122.5270°W / 48.4014; -122.5270

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