28-721: The Samish people are a Central Coast Salish people, who live in the U.S. state of Washington. It may also refer to: Places [ edit ] Lake Samish in Whatcom County Samish Bay in Puget Sound Samish River Samish Island, Washington , an unincorporated community in Skagit County Other [ edit ] Samish Indian Nation Arthur Samish (1897–1974), American lobbyist MV Samish ,
56-567: A longhouse that housed more than 100 people. By 1912, the Samish had either moved onto the Swinomish Reservation or into other communities. They had been pushed off the island by white settlers, as the Samish had occupied the land with the only fresh water. In 1926, a formal constitution was written by the Samish. They later altered it, but included a plan for electoral government. In 1971, in settlement of their land claim against
84-634: A ferry in Washington State Samish language, also known as North Straits Salish language [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samish&oldid=1181870936 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
112-583: A major smallpox epidemic blazed through the villages of Skagit County, including the Swinomish. The epidemics reduced the Swinomish populations by up to 80%, according to some estimations. Around 1855, the U.S. government recorded the Swinomish population to be around 150-200 people. In 1855, the Swinomish were party to the Treaty of Point Elliott . Under the treaty, the Swinomish Reservation
140-607: A trade language used for communication between settlers and Indigenous peoples in the 19th century. The Swinomish people speak a subdialect of the Northern dialect of the Lushootseed language. Traditional Swinomish society was organized on the village and family level. Each village was composed of several families and their leaders, who had a certain standing among others of the village due to their material wealth and social prestige. However, none of these important members of
168-469: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Samish people The Samish ( Samish : Xws7ámesh ) 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
196-666: Is now Mount Vernon. After the 1855 treaty, the Swinomish were constrained to the Swinomish Reservation , alongside the other bands of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community . They continue to exercise their sovereignty as a domestic dependent nation of the United States. Like other Coast Salish peoples, the Swinomish traditionally built permanent villages along waterways, especially near fresh water outlets like rivers and creeks. Villages were independent from one another, but nominally connected to
224-772: 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 . The Swinomish are a Southern Coast Salish people. The Southern Coast Salish includes
252-569: The Canadian Museum of Civilization published A Phonology, Morphology, and Classified Word List for the Samish Dialect of Straits Salish, by Brent D. Galloway (Canadian Ethnology Service, Mercury Series Paper #116). This is the first grammatical sketch and extensive word list for the Samish dialect; it was based on linguistic field work by Galloway with the last-known remaining speakers. Galloway's recorded tapes are on file with
280-549: The Museum of Civilization and the Samish Nation. Three or four fluent or partially fluent speakers remain as of 2013. Swinomish (tribe) The Swinomish people ( / ˈ s w ɪ n ə m ɪ ʃ / SWIN -ə-mish ; Lushootseed : swədəbš ) are a Lushootseed -speaking people Indigenous to western Washington state. The Tribe lives in the southeastern part of Fidalgo Island in northern Puget Sound , near
308-747: The Northern Straits Salish (Lkungen) language; a close sister language is Southern Straits Salish (Clallam or Klallam. Both are in the Central Coast Salish branch of Coast Salish, itself a branch of the large Salish(an) language family (Tim Montler 1999: "Language and dialect variation in Straits Salishan". Anthropological Linguistics 41 (4): 462–502, Kuipers, Aert H. Salish Etymological Dictionary. Missoula, MT: Linguistics Laboratory, University of Montana, 2002. ISBN 1-879763-16-8 ) Coast Salish . In 1990,
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#1732787832774336-579: The Swinomish Day School, a boarding school operated by the federal government. Today, most members of the Swinomish Tribe are Catholic . The language of the Swinomish is Lushootseed. Historically, the language was also known as "Skagit." According to their tradition, their language originated with the Kikiallus, from whence the Swinomish and other Skagit-speaking peoples migrated. In historic times, many also spoke Chinook Jargon ,
364-682: 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 name "Samish" is an Anglicization of the Samish name, Xws7ámesh , meaning "people who are there/who exist." The Samish fished in the islands and channels off
392-604: The Swinomish included using traps that led fish from deep water into the shallows where they could be easily collected. This kind of trap was used by the Swinomish at Dugualla Bay, Turner Bay, along the North Fork of the Skagit River, and all along the Swinomish Channel. Today, the Swinomish continue to be involved heavily in the fishing industry. Although some usage of traditional fishing methods continues,
420-497: The Swinomish people descend from a group of Kikiallus people who left their village at what is now Utsalady to settle in Shelter Bay. After their establishment, they prospered and eventually became their own distinct group. Alternatively, another origin story states that the Swinomish are descended from a noble's son who gained a powerful spirit power , and he and his wife became the ancestor of all peoples. Around 1830-1835,
448-418: The coast of Skagit County, Washington . The Samish had villages on Samish , Guemes , and Fidalgo Islands , and fished and harvested resources there and in the San Juan Islands . In 1847, Samish had more than 2,000 members. Epidemics of measles , smallpox , and ague , and attacks from Haida and Tsimshian from the north diminished the population to approximately 150 members in one village by 1855, at
476-532: The federal government, the Tribe was awarded US$ 5,754.96 for lands taken by the Point Elliott Treaty. The judgment deemed that they had exclusively occupied 9,233 acres (37 km ) of land at the time of the treaty. In 1996, the Samish were officially re-recognized by the U.S. government. In 1998, they changed their official name to the Samish Indian Nation . The Samish language is a dialect of
504-496: The first clam garden in the United States in 200 years. The Swinomish also traditionally gathered berries and roots, and, after the introduction of potatoes, they became part of the Swinomish diet. In pre-colonial times, the Swinomish were semi-migratory. In the summer, Swinomish people travelled to fishing and gathering sites near their villages. By 1883, much of the population of the Swinomish Reservation had turned to logging, milling, and farming. Around three-fourths had made
532-405: The majority of fishing is commercial. Through the Swinomish Tribe, they have been engaged in conflicts with the federal government over fishing rights. Most Swinomish are dependent on fishing, farm labor, or lumbering as income. Others make their income as craftspeople, selling Native arts and crafts. The Swinomish traditionally used clam gardens to farm clams. In 2022, the Swinomish Tribe built
560-591: The many Lushootseed-speaking peoples as well as the Twana . The Swinomish are closely related to their historical neighbors, including the Squinamish , Lower Skagit , and Kikiallus peoples. In the early colonial period, whites believed that the Swinomish were a part of the Lower Skagit, however, they were separate and distinct peoples. According to the 20th century Swinomish historian Martin J. Sampson,
588-438: The other Swinomish villages through kinship ties and shared customs and language. One of the main villages of the Swinomish was located near the headwaters of Sullivan Slough, near today's La Conner . This village was fortified by deep ditches filled with sharp ironwood stakes surrounding the village. Its strategic value was further amplified by its location: it could only be reached by large war canoes at high tide. This village
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#1732787832774616-489: The prow and can be up to fifty feet long. After colonization, many Swinomish converted to Christianity . One of the prominent denominations of the Swinomish was historically the Indian Shaker Church . A Shaker church was built on the Swinomish Reservation in 1939, but individuals practiced privately in their homes since 1910. Protestantism was introduced to the Swinomish in 1894 after the establishment of
644-444: The reservation, there were clashes between settlers and Swinomish regarding the boundaries of their lands. Historically, the Swinomish controlled much of Fidalgo Island. Their territory included the entire eastern half of Fidalgo Island down to Deception Pass , all of Whidbey Island above the northern half of Dugualla Bay , as well as a portion of Padilla Bay and the mainland north of the Skagit River extending about halfway to what
672-591: The reservations of the Lummi or the Swinomish . However, many Samish refused to go to the reservations and stayed in their traditional territory. They were often confused with the Skagit, and when they went to the Swinomish Reservation, they received only six household land allotments for the entire Tribe. Many members went to Guemes Island to establish New Guemes (now referred to as "Potlatch Beach"), where they built
700-458: The switch, with the remainder still living engaged in traditional subsistence patterns. The primary watergoing vessel for much of Swinomish history has been the canoe. Although modern motorized watercraft are the mainly utilized vehicle now, canoes still carry a high degree of cultural significance and are used at cultural events. The Swinomish canoes are similar to those of other Coast Salish peoples. Saltwater canoes are traditionally decorated at
728-530: The time of the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty . After the Treaty, some Samish moved to the Swinomish or Lummi reservations. Though 113 Samish were present at the treaty negotiations and signing, no Samish signed the Point Elliott Treaty. The Samish were attached to the treaty by the signature of the Lummi chief Chow-its-hoot. Lacking a reservation of their own, many Samish were sent to live on
756-680: Was decimated by smallpox, with only one surviving family. Many of the Swinomish today are descended from this family. The lifestyle of the Swinomish, like other Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast , is highly reliant on the usage of marine resources, such as salmon fishing and shellfish gathering. They reserved the right to fish and harvest in their usual and accustomed areas in the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855. The Swinomish are highly reliant on their marine resources. In pre-colonial times, as much as 70% percent of their food came from marine resources. The traditional fishing methods of
784-441: Was established, and the Swinomish were required to remove to it. Three Swinomish signed the treaty: Belole, Stodumkan, and Kelkahltsoot. The U.S. Government hoped that the Swinomish would turn to farming once the reservation was established. By 1884, about three-fourths of the Swinomish were logging, farming, and milling. Throughout the 1860s, many Swinomish left their homelands, scattering around Puget Sound in search of work. On
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