Sauk-Suiattle, or Sah-Ku-Me-Hu, is a Native American tribe in western Washington state in the United States. The tribe originally lived along the banks of the Sauk, Suiattle, Cascade, Stillaguamish, and Skagit Rivers. The Sauk-Suiattle Indian Reservation is in this area, centered near Darrington, Washington. It lies in two non-contiguous sections: the largest is in southern Skagit County, comprising 0.1355 square kilometres (33.5 acres), or 73.5 percent of the reservation's total land area and all of its resident population of 45 persons (2000 census); the smaller section, in northern Snohomish County, has a land area of 0.0488 square kilometres (12.1 acres) and had no resident population.
The Sauk-Suiattle are part of a group of tribes in the area which shared similar language and cultures, including the Skagit. Like many Northwest Coast natives, the Sauk-Suiattle relied heavily on fishing for their survival and their livelihood. The tribe moved onto a reservation in 1855 after the Point Elliott Treaty which was signed by a sub-chief after the chief refused.[1] In 1884, their village consisting of eight traditional cedar longhouses which were destroyed by European settlers. Some tribe members moved to the Swinomish Indian Reservation which had people from many neighboring Coast Salish tribes. From a pre-1855 population of 4,000, the tribe had declined to only 18 in 1924. Land claims were rejected on the basis that the tribe was not separate from the Upper Skagit tribe. In 1946, the Sauk-Suiattle established a separate tribal entity and they were federally recognized as a tribe in 1973. Their constitution was approved by the Secretary of the Interior in 1975.
Tribal membership has today risen to about 200.[2] Membership requirements are at least 1/4 blood descent from a member recorded in the 1942 census.[3] The tribe has fishing rights under the Point Elliot Treaty and is a member of the Skagit River System Cooperative with the Swinomish.[4]
Language [link]
The Sauk-Suiattle language (Lushootseed) belongs to the Salishan family of Native American languages and is spoken by several Salishan groups.
References [link]
- ^ A guide to the Indian tribes of the Pacific Northwest, page 186, Robert H. Ruby, John Arthur Brown, University of Oklahoma Press, 1992, ISBN 0-8061-2479-2, ISBN 978-0-8061-2479-7
- ^ "Sauk-Suiattle Tribe". Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. https://www.npaihb.org/member_tribes/tribe/sauk_suiattle_tribe/. Retrieved 2012-05-13. "The enrolled tribal population is 183 and the Indian population living on or near the reservation is 273."
- ^ Sauk-Suiattle homepage
- ^ Skagit River System Cooperative
- Sauk-Suiattle Reservation, Washington United States Census Bureau
External links [link]
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