The Nisqually Indian Tribe of the Nisqually Reservation is a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

Nisqually people The Nisqually are a Lushootseed language, Lushootseed-speaking Native Americans of the United States, Native American tribe in western Washington (state), Washington state in the United States. They are a Southern Coast Salish peoples, Coast Sal ...

. They are a

Coast Salish people The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one o ...

Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...

. Their tribe is located in the

State of Washington Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. Some of the people of Nisqually descent are enrolled in the

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of primarily Lower Chehalis and Upper Chehalis people located in Washington state. The tribe governs the Chehalis Reservation, which is located along the Cheha ...

but neither tribe allows a Nisqually to be enrolled in both tribes at the same time.

Reservation and lands under tribal ownership

The

Nisqually Reservation The Nisqually Reservation, also known as Nisqually Indian Reservation is a federally recognized Indian reservation in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 668 at the 2020 census. History Nisqually Indian Reservation wa ...

is large and located in

Thurston County, Washington Thurston County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat is Olympia, Washington, Olympia, the ...

, east of Olympia. The

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

was established by the

Treaty of Medicine Creek The Treaty of Medicine Creek was an 1854 treaty between the United States, and nine tribes and bands of Indians, occupying the lands lying around the head of Puget Sound, Washington, and the adjacent inlets. The tribes listed on the Treaty of Medic ...

of 1854. The initial was enlarged to two years later. The tribal lands were broken into individual allotments on either side of the Nisqually River in 1884. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Pierce County, through the process of condemnation proceedings (eminent domain), took over for the

Fort Lewis Fort Lewis may refer to: * Fort Lewis (Colorado), a former United States Army post (1878–1891) in the U.S. State of Colorado ** Fort Lewis College, a college in the Durango, Colorado, United States ** Fort Lewis Skyhawks, athletic teams of Fort L ...

Military Reserve. When the war ended in 1918, the Nisqually people petitioned for their land to be returned to them, but the request was denied by the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Newton Baker Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist,Noble, Ransom E. "Henry George and the Progressive Movement." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 8, no. 3, 1949, pp. 259–269. w ...

. The remaining portion of the reservation not under control of the military is approximately . In recent decades, the tribe has re-acquired collective ownership of of reserve lands as well as additional off-reserve lands, totaling over . The remaining parts of the reservation are include of private Indian Allotments (dating to 1884) and held by non-Indian owners.

Government

The Nisqually Indian Tribe is headquartered in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

. It ratified its constitution and bylaws on September 9, 1946. These were amended on October 28, 1994. The tribe is governed by a seven-member, democratically elected General Council. The current tribal administration is as follows: * Chairman: Ken Choke * Vice Chairman: Antonette Squally * Secretary: Jackie Whittington * Treasurer: Norine Wells * Fifth Council Member: Chris Olin * Sixth Council Member: Guido Levy Jr. * Seventh Council Member: Leighanna Scott

Language

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

is commonly spoken by the tribe. Its traditional language is the

Nisqually language Lushootseed ( ), historically known as Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish, or Skagit-Nisqually, is a Central Coast Salish language of the Salishan language family. Lushootseed is the general name for the dialect continuum composed of two main di ...

, which is a Southern Puget Sound Salish language.

Economic development

The Nisqually Indian Tribe owns and operates Red Wind Casino, Blue Camas Buffet, Squalli-Absch Grille, The Medicine Creek Deli, and Pealo's Landing. In 2017, the tribe began acquiring parcels of vacant land in northern Lacey for a future commercial development. The property was transferred to the Nisqually Indian Tribe in 2020 and is planned to be used for a new casino, convention center, and entertainment district named Quiemuth Village. The site is north of Interstate 5 and was originally intended for a mixed-use development that only had one completed store: a branch of the

Cabela's Cabela's Inc. is an American retailer that specializes in hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and other outdoor recreation merchandise. The chain was founded by Richard N. Cabela and Jim Cabela in 1961. Cabela's was acquired by Springfield, Mi ...

franchise.

Notable tribal members

Billy Frank Jr. Billy Frank Jr. (March 9, 1931 – May 5, 2014) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American environmental leader and advocate of Native American civil rights, treaty rights. As a member of the Nisqually tribe, Nisqually tribe, ...

(1931–2014), Native American indigenous rights and environmentalist activist

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

Nisqually Indian Tribe
official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nisqually Indian Tribe Of The Nisqually Reservation Coast Salish governments Native American tribes in Washington (state) Federally recognized tribes in the United States Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast Nisqually