The Squaxin Island Tribe is made up of descendants of several Coast Salish bands organized under the Squaxin Island Indian Reservation, a tribal government in western Washington State.
The reservation was created under the terms of the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek and includes the entirety of Squaxin Island, which is located in the extreme southwestern part of Puget Sound in Mason County. Its land area is just over two square miles. No one lives on the island; rather, it is a gathering place for social events and ceremonies. The reservation also includes several small parcels of land nearby. The tribe owns some off-reservation trust land, where just over five hundred enrolled members reside.
The bands that became the Squaxin Island Tribe inhabited the seven inlets of the South Puget Sound, and included the S'hotl-Ma-Mish at the Carr Inlet, the Noo-Seh-Chatl at the Henderson Inlet, the Steh-Chass at the Budd Inlet, around modern-day Olympia, the Squi-Aitl at the Eld Inlet, the T'Peeksin at the Totten Inlet, the Sa-Heh-Wa-Mish at the Hammersley Inlet, and the Squaksin at the Case Inlet, for which the island got its name. These tribes spoke dialects in the Salishan family of languages known as Lushootseed. Linguistically, they were closely related to the Twana and the Suquamish.
Unlike other tribes in the region, the Squaxin tribes were not dependent on river systems, since the Tumwater Falls blocked salmon from migrating far upstream. Their fishing efforts were oriented towards the saltwater sound and the smaller watersheds adjacent to the inlets.
Like other tribes in the region, extended Squaxin families lived together in longhouses assembled into villages, and enjoyed a wide system of alliances through family ties.
Not unlike other Coast Salish tribes, the traditional Squaxin culture included storytelling through songs accompanied by dances to the beat of a drum. Squaxin men carved cedar canoes, and women weaved baskets and fishing nets.
The Squaxin people engaged in face painting, which was accomplished with red and black hues made from ground-up rock. Upper-level Squaxin also practiced head flattening.
Head flattening was a form of artificial cranial deformation that was a cultural tradition among various indigenous tribes, not only among the Coast Salish but also in Central and South America. It involved intentionally changing the shape of the skull in infancy when the bones of the skull are pliable. It was a form of body modification that did not affect the individual's mental capabilities.
Traditional religious beliefs among the Squaxin people were similar to those of other Pacific Northwest tribes and continued to be practiced for several decades after the Puget Sound War. In 1882, John Slocum (Squ-sacht-un), a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe, founded the Indian Shaker Church, a Christian denomination that blends Indigenous, Catholic, and Protestant beliefs and practices, which continues to be practiced among individuals within various Washington State tribes and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Today, most enrolled Squaxin members identify with various Protestant denominations.
In 2020, there were 509 residents living on Squaxin tribal lands, up from 302 in 1984 and 445 in 2000, nearly all of whom identified as Native American alone or of mixed race.
Opened in 2002, the tribe owns and operates the Squaxin Island Museum, which includes a library and research center. Facility staff offer guided tours, cultural classes, and numerous exhibits. The tribe also operates Salish Cliffs Golf, the Skookum Creek Tobacco Company, and the Little Creek Casino and Resort. In 2015, the tribe opened Elevation, a tribally-owned cannabis retail store.
Topics related to the Squaxin Tribal government or any of its businesses, enterprises, schools, medical facilities, programs, events, or other entities are appropriate for this category, as are those owned by individual members of the Squaxin Tribe.
Recommended Resources
Island Enterprises is the economic development arm of the Squaxin Island Tribe. It was created to carry out the tribe's economic functions with the goals of job creation and revenue generation to support essential government programs and services. The company operates several subsidiaries and related businesses, including Trading Post gas stations and convenience stores, a seafood company engaged in shellfish aquaculture and finfish, a tobacco company, a distributing company, and others.
http://islandenterprisesinc.com/
The Squaxin Island Tribe owns and operates the gaming casino, resort, and golf club in Shelton, Washington. The address, telephone number, and casino hours are published on the website. The casino offers casino promotions, slots, table games, sportsbook gambling, poker, bingo, and keno. The resort includes hotel and recreational vehicle spaces with online booking facilities. Dining and entertainment options are featured, and the Rewards Club is defined. Gift cards may be purchased online.
https://littlecreek.com/
Owned by the Squaxin Island Tribe, the 18-hole, par 72 golf course is twenty minutes from Olympia. Its features and amenities include a GPS-enabled golf cart fleet, a practice range and short game area, a golf shop, golf instruction by PGA professionals, a Titleist fitting cart, Titleist rental clubs, and a full-service restaurant, all on the same property as Little Creek Casino Resort. Promotional offers and monthly specials are featured, online bookings are available, and contacts are posted.
https://salishcliffs.com/
Originally known as Harstine Oyster Company, the company became known as Salish Seafoods after it was acquired by the Squaxin Island Tribe in the early 1970s. Situated on six acres of waterfront property on the western shore of Harstine Island in South Puget Sound, Salish Seafoods also grows oysters on forty-one acres of tidelands on Squaxin Island. The company sells shellstock, singles, and shucked meats throughout the United States and China. Its products and contacts are provided.
http://salishseafoods.com/
Native-owned and operating on the Squaxin Island Indian Reservation, the tobacco company was formed to diversify tribal enterprises. All profits go to support tribal infrastructure. Its cigarette brands, Complete and Premis, are featured and manufactured at reservation facilities in Shelton, Washington. An introduction to the facility operations, along with retail locations carrying its brands and information about where profits go, is provided. Contacts are provided.
https://skookumcreek.com/
The Squaxin Island Museum, Library, and Research Center is located in Shelton, Washington, and is owned and operated by the Squaxin Island Tribe. As a living eco-museum, the MLRC demonstrates how nature and tribal culture relate, including exhibits highlighting prehistoric and present-day aquatics-centered lifestyles, timber and wild game harvests and management techniques, oral history and legends, the Treaty of Medicine Creek, religious practices, and the arts. Hours and contacts are posted.
https://squaxinislandmuseum.org/
Created to promote places to go and things to do on the Squaxin Island Tribe's reservation and trust lands, the site offers a brief introduction to the tribe, a video of Makah's Shi Shi Trail, Little Creek Casino and Resort, Squaxin Island Museum, the Skookum Creek Event Center, and Kamilche Adventures, which offers guided hiking, biking, kayaking, and canoe trips. Ideas for working vacations, and meeting and conferencing spaces on the reservation are included.
https://squaxinislandtourism.com/
The federally recognized Squaxin Island Indian Reservation includes the whole of Squaxin Island, as well as other parcels of reservation and trust lands. The site features the tribe's history, historical timeline, profile, governmental structure, member programs and services, enrollment policies, health services, employment opportunities, a newsletter, and various reports. A guide for tourists gives its location, as well as things to do, and Native American etiquette.
https://squaxinisland.org/
Squaxin Island Tribe's Sea Level Rise Story Map
Created with the Story Map Series application in ArcGIS Online and associated with the Squaxin Island Museum, Library and Research Center, the story map and tribal climate tool depicts the relationships between the Squaxin Island tribal members and the seven inlets of South Puget Sound, showcasing the impact of sea level rise on shellfish, fish, and their lands and way of life. The digital platform combines maps, narrative text, images, and multimedia content.
http://slrstorymap.squaxin.us/
