INTRODUCTION
The Samish Indian Nation is the successor to the large and powerful Samish Nation, a signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855. The Tribes traditional territory stretches over a wide seven-county region of Northwest Washington. This area, which ranges from the mountain tops of the Cascades westerly along the hills, woodlands, and river deltas, arriving at the far western shores of the San Juan Islands, which provides a backdrop for our history and cultural traditions that remain strong today.

Our history instructs us as to proper relationship to the land and its resources by teaching us the lessons left for us by our ancestors about both the natural and spiritual worlds and how those worlds cannot be separated. This teaching help guide our tribal members in their daily lives and offers a unique and irreplaceable system of beliefs, which takes us through the transitions of life from birth to death and beyond.

Samish people were respected for their spiritual strength as well as their skillful carving of canoes and construction of longhouses. One of those longhouses on the eastern end of Samish Island measured some 1,250 feet in length. In 1847 the Tribe had over 2,000 members and because of the raids from Northern Tribes and epidemics of measles, small pox, and the ague (flu), the population of the tribe was decreased to approximately 150 at the time of the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty. History also tells us that 113 Samish were present at the Treaty grounds at the time of signing in 1855.

As part of a larger Coast Salish cultural complex the Samish formed a village community, which consisted of several important social groupings. These groupings can be listed as 4 units: the family, the house group, the villages, and the tribe as a whole. Samish tribal members married outside of their groupings, so as to create a network of “kinships.” These kinships regulated both the internal and external relationships between the families, the house groups, the villages, and the tribe as a whole. The Tribe relied on these relationships during bad times in order to be able to access areas of food and shelter that was not currently in their home territory. Linguistically and culturally, the Tribe is grouped as Coast Salish, speaking a dialect of Coast Salish known as “Straits Salish,” rather than Lushsootseed dialect as some of our immediate neighbors to the east.

HUNTING AND GATHERING
Our elder’s would often tell us when we were growing up that, “When the tide was out that our table was set for dinner.” For the most part everything that we needed to survive was right in front of us living on the beaches or in the waters close to shore. When you wanted to use one of these gifts you should always use a prayer or a song to thank them for the gift that was left for us by the ancestors to survive such as the clam, the oyster, the salmon, the waters, the air, the roots, and everything else in nature.

The Samish people have access to a wide variety of food sources. Vegetable foods included sprouts, bulbs, and roots from a dozen or so species, and the berries and fruits of about two dozen species. Shellfish included ten different mollusks, sea urchins, and crab. More than 20 species of fish were eaten: these included all 5 species of Pacific Salmon, steelhead trout, halibut, herring, sucker, chub and occasionally sturgeon. Three species of upland bird were eaten and more than forty species of waterfowl and shore birds. Some land mammals such as deer, elk, and seal were also taken.

TREATY RIGHTS AND RECOGNITION AND TERRITORY
In March of 1958, the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) made two significant findings regarding the Samish Tribe in their efforts to pursue land claims against the federal government for land that was taken by the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855. The first, regarding the treaty status of the Samish, the ICC held that, “The Samish held Samish Island, Guemes Island, eastern Lopez Island, Cypress Island, and Fidalgo Island.” The second finding made by the ICC held that, “The treaty cession includes the whole of the areas alleged by petitioner to have been used and occupied by the Samish Indians in aboriginal times.”

In spite of these and other positive findings regarding the legal and political history of the Samish Indian Nation and in spite of the fact the tribe was on the list of federally recognized tribes that was published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1966, Samish’s status as a federally recognized Indian tribe was lost when through a clerical error in 1969 we were simply left off the list when the Bureau of Indian Affairs republished it. This is assumed to have been an oversight very similar to the one that again happened to the Samish in the late 1960’s when a BIA clerk left them off the list of Federally Recognized Tribes. It took over 26 year’s administrative and federal court proceedings to finally regain recognition for the Samish Indian Nation in April of 1996. Other legal issues regarding the tribe’s status are still seeking clarification in the federal courts.

PRESENT DAY
The Samish Indian Nation is governed by an eleven member Tribal Council elected to oversee the welfare and resources of the Tribe; its constitution, economic development, policies, legislation, enrollment, and justice. A General Council, all voting age members, maintains active participation in both the governance responsibilities and cultural gatherings of the Tribe. Today the leaders of the Tribe move both in the traditional Samish ways and use the tools of the modern day world. The Tribe offers to its members a wide variety of opportunities such as:

• Housing

• Preschool and Elders’ Services

• Commodities

• Health Care and Wellness

• Social Services

• Cultural Restoration and Celebration

• Education Assistance

• Library and Mentoring

• Internet Access

The Samish are currently working with state and federal agencies on several grants to protect the environment and preserve natural and cultural resources, as well as creating a sound economic base for our tribe and each individual family. The Samish are strong and committed people. We are committed to reestablishing our homelands, strengthening our tribal culture, demonstrating traditional stewardship of cultural and natural resources, and being a contributing force in the economic base of our region. In Short, the Tribe is continuing in the ways of their ancestors, carrying forth the values and visions of a strong Samish Indian Nation.

Chronology of Documentary Evidence- Samish Recognition

1854 U.S. Treaty Commission proposes establishing four reservations in Western Washington, including one for the Samish

1855 Treaty executed at Point Elliott with thirteen tribes, including the Samish; “Samish” and “Lummi” inadvertently omitted from the final draft

1859 Point Elliott Treaty ratified by congress

1914 The Samish Tribe becomes a founding member of the Northwest Federation of American Indians

1926 Samish Indian Tribe adopts a written constitution and opens tribal enrollment

1934 U.S. Court of Claims rules that the Samish are a party to the Point Elliot Treaty, but finds that their claims are entirely offset by government expenditures made on their behalf

1951 New Tribal constitution adopted

1953 Samish issued “blue cards” by the Bureau of Indian Affairs identifying them as Samish Indians for treaty fishing and other purposes

1971 Samish Indian tribe accepted as a member of the Small Tribes Organization of Western Washington

Washington Governor Dan Evans agrees, “There is a recognized Samish Tribe” and offers assistance

Indian Health Services determines that the Samish are eligible for services

1974 Bureau of Indian Affairs approves the new Tribal constitution but suggests deletion of a blood-quantum requirement

1975 U.S. District Court grants the Samish treaty fishing rights pendente litem (United States v. Washington)

Samish Indian Tribe requests clarification of its status from the BIA

1979 District Court rules that the Samish are not Federally recognized despite their record of continuous “dealing with agencies of the United States”

Samish Indian Tribe petitions for re-recognition under newly promulgated Federal Acknowledgment Process (25 CFR Part 83)

1981 The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds by a split decision that, whether or not the Samish are Federally-recognized, they have not proven sufficient “political and social cohesion” to qualify for treaty fishing rights as a separate entity. The decision was based on briefs submitted by the United States and the Samish request for a remand and new trial on the “cohesion” issue is denied.

1982 Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of Federal Acknowledgement issues a Proposed Finding Against Federal Acknowledgement largely based on the “cohesion” issue (although it is not a criterion in 25 CFR Part 83)

1996 Samish Indian Tribe is re-recognized on April 26.

LINKS:

The Carving of the Maiden Of Deception Pass