The Reservation is home to a community of Coast Salish peoples that descended from tribes and bands that originally lived in the Skagit and Samish River Valleys, the coastal areas surrounding Skagit, Padilla and Fidalgo Bays and Saratoga Passage, and numerous islands, including Fidalgo, Camano, Whidbey and the San Juan Islands. For thousands of years, these Coast Salish tribes maintained a culture centered around abundant salt water resources that included salmon, shellfish, and marine mammals, as well as upland resources such as cedar, camas, berries, and wild game. They lived in large villages during the winter and in summer encampments that followed the seasonal cycle of resource gathering from the mouths of rivers and streams where salmon was taken, to coastal shorelines where shellfish and herring and other forage fish were taken, to marine waters where finfish and sea mammals were taken, and to inland forests where wild game and berries were taken. Four major groups and their allied bands – the Aboriginal Swinomish, Lower Skagit, Kikiallus and Aboriginal Samish Tribes – signed the Treaty of Point Elliott with the United States in 1855 and reserved the southeast peninsula of Fidalgo Island for their Reservation and future use. The reservation was created by the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855. An executive order of September 9, 1873 clarified the northern boundary and added 59.73 acres establishing the 7,448.80-acre reservation. The people were influenced by Roman Catholic missionaries. Many of the people moved around various areas in Puget Sound seeking employment. They came into conflict with white settlers because of land. In 1884 three quarters of Indians on the reservation were engaged in farming, logging, and milling.
The Swinomish Reservation is located on the southeastern end of Fidalgo Island a few miles east of the City of Anacortes and a few miles west of the City of Mount Vernon in Skagit County. The Reservation is surrounded by 27 miles of salt water shoreline and is bounded on the west by Skagit Bay, on the east by Swinomish Channel and on the north by Padilla Bay. It’s connected to the mainland by a 4-lane bridge and State Highway 20 on the north end of Swinomish Channel and by a 2-lane bridge on the south end. Tribal headquarters are located in the historic Swinomish Village on the southeast portion of the Reservation, across the Channel from the Town of LaConner. The Swinomish voted to accept the Indian Reorganization Act on November 16, 1935. The constitution was adopted and the governing body is the Swinomish Indian Senate.
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is federally recognized and operates under Constitution and Bylaws adopted in 1936 pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is comprised of approximately 900 tribal members. The majority live within the Swinomish Reservation and Skagit County. The 11 elected members of the Swinomish Senate continue that commitment by strengthening our government so that we may protect our treaty, culture, and collective wellbeing. As a sovereign nation, we engage in local, state, and interstate commerce, manage our natural resources, and exercise power over our homelands and waters.
The Reservation is about 15 square miles in size and includes 7,450 acres of upland and approximately 2,900 acres of tidelands. Today, the Tribe exercises jurisdictional authority over all lands within the Reservation boundaries, and provide governmental and other services to tribal members, non-member Indians and non-Indians, including 24 hour police protection, water and sewer service, and planning and permitting services that are available to all residents within the Reservation. The Tribe also provides services and programs for tribal members, including education, housing, senior services, and medical and dental services.
The Swinomish Reservation is located on the southeastern end of Fidalgo Island a few miles east of the City of Anacortes and a few miles west of the City of Mount Vernon in Skagit County. The Reservation is surrounded by 27 miles of salt water shoreline and is bounded on the west by Skagit Bay, on the east by Swinomish Channel and on the north by Padilla Bay. It’s connected to the mainland by a 4-lane bridge and State Highway 20 on the north end of Swinomish Channel and by a 2-lane bridge on the south end. Tribal headquarters are located in the historic Swinomish Village on the southeast portion of the Reservation, across the Channel from the Town of LaConner. The Reservation is about 15 square miles in size and includes 7,450 acres of upland and approximately 2,900 acres of tidelands.
The Swinomish community is a confederation of several separate tribes or bands of Coast Salish occupying contiguous areas. They include the Samish (newly recognized in 1996), Kikyalus, Lower Skagit and aboriginal Swinomish. These groups were brought together by the government, to what is now called the Swinomish Reservation. Most of the reservation residents live in a small community adjacent to the Swinomish Slough, a narrow water channel that forms the eastern boundary of the reservation. The town of LaConner is directly across the channel from the reservation. The reservation boundaries contain some 8,155 acres some of which are allotted in trust or restricted status, some are tribally owned land in trust and some are owned by non-Indians in fee status.
Today, the Tribe exercises jurisdictional authority over all lands within the Reservation boundaries, and provide governmental and other services to tribal members, non-member Indians and non-Indians, including 24 hour police protection, water and sewer service, and planning and permitting services that are available to all residents within the Reservation. The Tribe also provides services and programs for tribal members, including education, housing, senior services, and medical and dental services.
The Swinomish people SWIN-ə-mish are an historically Lushootseed-speaking Native American people in western Washington state in the United States.
The Swinomish Tribe has built a diverse economy that includes lodging, entertainment, golf, and – true to tradition – salmon.
The Swinomish Casino & Lodge, overlooking Padilla Bay, features an upscale restaurant, a café, a sports bar and a deli, and is a showcase of Coast Salish art.
The Swinomish RV Park is located adjacent to the casino and lodge, and overlooks Swinomish Channel and Padilla Bay, with views of Mount Baker and the Cascade Mountains.
Nearby, the Swinomish Golf Links is an 18-hole, par 72 course with views of Mount Baker and Fidalgo Bay.
The Swinomish Fish Company processes and cans salmon which is marketed worldwide under the “Native Catch” label. It also processes other fish and Dungeness crab harvested primarily in Puget Sound.
Swinomish’s economic enterprises help fund college scholarships for every high school graduate. “Our youth have so many opportunities in front of them. This is what our elders prayed for,” Cladoosby told the National Museum of the American Indian.
“We give full-ride scholarships to the school of your choice if you graduate from high school or get a GED. We believe that the way to defeat poverty and drug and alcohol abuse is through education.” But, he added, “Our youth and their parents have to want to make the choice for education.”
Swinomish awarded 443 scholarships between 2008-15, according to programs administrator John Stephens.
”We have been providing scholarships for many years before 2008,” he said. “Keep in mind that we provide scholarships on an annual basis to individual Swinomish-enrolled members, with annual renewals available providing they are students in good standing, so these numbers represent the number of individual awards for each year. The numbers can be duplicative as an individual member can get a scholarship each of four years for undergrad, each of two years for master’s, plus years for a PhD. The numbers also represent individuals who are in a vocational or technical program at a community college.”
Swinomish also owns two Chevron stations and convenience stores – one on Highway 20, and one in Swinomish Village.
All told, Swinomish employs 850 people – 500 work for Swinomish Tribe-owned enterprises, 350 work for the Tribe,
The Tribe is the principal employer on the reservation, providing the following services: Fish rearing and hatchery facility, Casino/Bingo operation, and concession facilites, fish processing plant, Tribal water system, social services, housing/Utility Authority, and Northwest Indian College/ work training program. Principal industries: wood products, petroleum and coal processing, food processing, agriculture.
The Tribe is governed by a Constitution and Bylaws that was originally adopted in 1936 and by the Swinomish Senate, the tribe’s governing body, which is comprised of 11 elected members that serve staggered five year terms. Each year there is an election for two of the Senate positions and every five years there is an election for three Senate positions. Following each year’s election, the 11 Senators select a chairman, vice chairman, secretary and treasurer.
The Tribe has become one of the 5 largest employers in the County with over 250 employees in Tribal government and approximately 300 employees in its casino and other economic enterprises.
The enrolled population is 778 and the Indian population living on or near the reservation is about 1,000. There were 1051 users in 2002.
City: LaConner, population 665, elevation 8.
County: Skagit, population 69,500, Native American 1,484, 32% of non-white, 2% of total population. 1,735 square miles.
County extends inland to the Cascades from Rosario Strait at Anacortes and Mt. Vernon.
County’s assessed value averages $2,567 an acre.
Rainfall: (Mt. Vernon) 32.2 inches. Average temperatures: 41-60
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