The Port Madison Native Reservation is an Indigenous Reservation in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

belonging to the

Suquamish Tribe The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Suquami ...

, a federally recognized indigenous nation and signatory to the

Treaty of Point Elliott The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot (with one ''t'') / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes ...

of 1855.

Location

The reservation is located in northern

Kitsap County Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on ...

and consists of 7,657 acres, of which 1,475 acres are owned by the Suquamish Tribe, 2,601 acres are owned by individual citizens of the Suquamish Tribe, and 3,581 acres are owned by non-Indigenous. The reservation is divided into two separate parcels by the geographic feature Miller Bay. The towns of

Suquamish The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Suquami ...

and Indianola both lie within the bounds of the reservation. A resident population of 6,536 persons was counted in the 2000 census.

History

The reservation was authorized by the

Point Elliott Treaty The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot (with one ''t'') / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes ...

of January 22, 1855, for the Suquamish people, and was established by an executive order issued October 21, 1864. Other Coast Salish peoples, including the

Duwamish Duwamish may refer to: * Duwamish tribe, a Native American tribe in Washington state * Duwamish River, in Washington state * Duwamish (fireboat), ''Duwamish'' (fireboat) See also * Elliott Bay, often called "Duwamish Bay" in the 19th century * Du ...

and

Sammamish Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resid ...

, also moved to the reservation. When the land was reserved by the Point Elliott Treaty, all land was held by Tribal members and designated for their sole use. However, a series of procedures designed to accommodate non-Indigenous land acquisition created a situation where the reservation is widely interspersed with non-Tribal ownership. Successful economic development since the early 1990s has given the Suquamish Tribe government the ability to reacquire land lost during the allotment era, and "the Tribe and Tribal members now own more than half of the land on the reservation for the first time in recent history," Suquamish Tribe communications director April Leigh said in a story in the North Kitsap Herald. Recent major acquisitions include White Horse Golf Club in 2010, placed into trust in March 2014; and 200 acres known as the Place of the Bear, in the Cowling Creek watershed, in November 2014.

Important sites

Completion of the

Suquamish Museum The Suquamish Museum preserves and displays relics and records related to the Suquamish Tribe, including artifacts from the Old Man House and the Baba'kwob site. It is located on the Port Madison Indian Reservation in Washington state and was foun ...

in 2012 helped solidify Suquamish Village as a walkable cultural district which includes the grave of Chief Si'ahl, or Seattle, at the Suquamish Cemetery; Old Man House Park, the former site of

Old Man House Old Man House was the largest "bighouse" (a type of longhouse) in what is now the U.S. state of Washington, and once stood on the shore of Puget Sound. Lying at the center of the Suquamish winter village on Agate Pass, just south of the present-d ...

, the largest winter longhouse in the Salish Sea; the Suquamish Veterans Memorial, with honor poles depicting

Chief Kitsap Kitsap or Ktsap (died April 18, 1860) was a war chief of the Suquamish Native American tribe. One source says that he was the most powerful chief on Puget Sound from 1790 to 1845. Kitsap County, Washington and the Kitsap Peninsula are named for ...

and Chief Seattle; and the

House of Awakened Culture The House of Awakened Culture () is a community house in Suquamish, Washington State, on the Port Madison Indian Reservation. Built by the Suquamish tribe in 2008, it acts as a spiritual successor to the historic Old Man House, which was burnt by t ...

, overlooking Port Madison. On Suquamish Way and Highway 305, near the

Agate Pass Bridge The Agate Pass Bridge is a structural steel truss cantilever bridge spanning Agate Pass, connecting Bainbridge Island to the Kitsap Peninsula. It was built in 1950, and it replaced a car ferry service which dated from the 1920s. The bridge provide ...

, is the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort, an events and entertainment destination, with 15,000 square feet of meeting space, a hotel with 183 rooms overlooking Agate Pass, and a showcase of Coast Salish art.

Notes

References

Port Madison Reservation, Washington
United States Census Bureau

External links

Suquamish Tribe of the Port Madison Indian Reservation
official website {{authority control Geography of Kitsap County, Washington Native American governments in Washington (state) Coast Salish governments American Indian reservations in Washington (state) Federally recognized tribes in the United States