This portion of our web guide centers on the Skagit people, descendants of the Coast Salish people who have inhabited the western Washington State region for thousands of years.
Contemporary Skagit people include the Upper Skagit tribe and the Lower Skagit band of the Swinomish tribe.
The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe is a federally recognized American Indian tribe. Culturally, the Upper Skagit are related to the Lower Skagit, the Coast Salish, and the Plateau Indians on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains. The Upper Skagit Indian Reservation is separated into three small parcels of land in western Skagit County, Washington, totaling about a hundred acres. The Upper Skagit reservation includes a tribe-operated casino, the Skagit Casino Resort, as well as several other businesses, including Encore, the Market Buffet, Express Eats, the Skagit Ridge Hotel, Bow Hill Gas and Food Mart, and the Highway 20 Hometown Pharmacy.
The Lower Skagit, sometimes known as the Whidbey Island Skagits, are enrolled in the federally recognized Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation, which includes Swinomish, Lower Skagit, Upper Skagit, Kikiallus, and Samish peoples. The Swinomish Reservation is on Puget Sound, on the southeastern side of Fidalgo Island in Skagit County, Washington, about fifteen square miles in area that includes 7,450 acres of upland and 2,900 acres of tidelands. The Swinomish Tribe owns and operates the Swinomish Casino and Lodge, Swinomish Golf Links, Swinomish RV Park, Swinomish Fish Company, and a couple of Chevron gas stations and convenience stores.
The traditional territory of the Skagit people covers a wide region of the Salish Sea in northwestern Washington, from the Cascade Mountains to the western shores of the San Juan Islands, including the Skagit River Valley.
Traditionally, the Skagit people spoke Lushootseed, a Salishan language. Contemporary Skagit individuals generally speak English, although some elders speak Swinomish, also known as Skagit.
Historically, the Skagit people lived in cedar plank homes that generally housed extended family groups, and lived a fishing, hunting, and gathering lifestyle, traveling by canoe and on foot. The traditional diet of the Skagit people was based on the resources available to them, such as salmon, shellfish, seals, and other fish, as well as ducks, other game birds, and deer. They also gathered camas roots, nettles, bracken, fruits, and nuts. Sometime after being contacted by Europeans, they began growing potatoes.
During the fur trading era, they were active in trading at Hudson Bay Company trading posts. Like other North Pacific American Indian groups, they faced challenges related to European settlement, such as land disputes, displacement, and treaties that significantly affected their traditional way of life.
The Skagit people practiced a form of indigenous spirituality similar to other Salish groups. These practices were closely aligned with the land and natural world. They included a spiritual relationship with the environment, in which elements such as water, forests, and animals held religious and cultural importance. With the arrival of Roman Catholic missionaries in the 1840s, many were converted to Christianity, even building a Catholic church in 1841. Although traditional elements might be included, Christianity is still widely practiced among the Skagit people. Specific details of their traditional or contemporary religious beliefs and practices are not widely published for public consumption, although they are integral to their cultural identity.
Another federally recognized American Indian tribe, the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe of Washington, is closely related to the Skagit people, and are sometimes considered to be part of the Upper Skagit. They are not related to the Sauk people, currently known as the Sac and Fox. The tribe historically lived along the banks of the Sauk, Suiattle, Cascade, Stillaguamish, and Skagit rivers, in the area known as Sauk Prairie, at the foot of Whitehorse Mountain. The Sauk-Suiattle are part of a group of tribes, including the Skagit, who share similar cultures and languages.
The tribe moved onto a reservation in 1855 after their village at Sauk Prairie was destroyed by European-American homesteaders. Some tribal members moved to the Swinomish Indian Reservation. They were federally recognized as a tribe in 1973. The tribe operates a smokeshop, a marijuana store, a country store, and a casino and bingo hall.
While recognizing the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe as a distinct entity, we will include them in this category since they don't have enough websites to warrant a separate category.
As the focus of this category is on the Skagit people, online resources pertaining to or representing Skagit tribal governments, businesses, enterprises, schools, medical facilities, organizations, and events.
Recommended Resources
The Sauk-Suiattle American Indian people have lived near Whitehorse Mountain for generations, hunting and gathering in the Sauk Prairie region. Once known as the Sah-ku-me-hu, the tribe traveled the rivers by canoe and over the mountains. Its history, homelands, land issues, tribal membership, and enrollment requirements are set forth, along with an overview of member programs and services, employment opportunities, regular events, address, telephone numbers, and an email address.
https://www.sauk-suiattle.com/
Founded in 1992, the Skagit Land Trust is a non-profit organization that conserves land by acquiring and accepting donations of land and conservation easements, and by assisting partners and agencies with land conservation projects. While not owned or operated by either of the Skagit tribes, the organization acknowledges the connection between the lands it conserves and the Skagit people, as well as the inherent, indigenous, and treaty rights of the Coast Salish people.
https://www.skagitlandtrust.org/
The Skagit is a casino and resort in Bow, Washington, owned and operated by the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. The website publishes the address, directions, contacts, and employment opportunities. It also highlights the Skagit Rewards program, its slot machines, promotional offers, and a resort calendar. Guest accommodations include the Skagit Resort, and the Ridge Hotel, both of which are featured here, with online bookings. Its dining and entertainment venues are highlighted.
https://www.theskagit.com/
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Also known as the Swinomish Indian Tribe, the federally recognized tribe is located on Puget Sound, on the southeastern side of Fidalgo Island in Skagit County, in the State of Washington. Enrolled members include Swinomish, Lower Skagit, Upper Skagit, Kikiallus, and Samish peoples. The reservation property includes Swadabs Park on the Swinomish Channel and the Kukutali Preserve. Its governmental structure, tribal code, departments, programs, services, and enterprises.
https://swinomish.org/
Federally recognized, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe manages the Upper Skagit Indian Reservation, which consists of three parcels of land in western Skagit County, Washington. The tribal website features an overview of the tribe's history, its governmental structure, administrative offices, departments, and member programs and services. The address, driving directions, hours, and contacts are published, along with an overview of its community, employment opportunities, and events.
https://upperskagittribe-nsn.gov/
