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Muckleshoot

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Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
bəqəlšuɬ
Flag of Muckleshoot
Flag
Location of the Muckleshoot Reservation
Location of the Muckleshoot Reservation
LanguagesLushootseed, English
Ethnic groups
  • Duwamish
  • Stkamish
  • Smulkamish
  • Skopamish
  • Upper Puyallup
Demonym(s)Muckleshoot
TypeFederally-recognized tribe
Establishment
1854
1855
• Muckleshoot Reservation established
January 20, 1857

The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, also known as the Muckleshoot Tribe, is a federally-recognized tribe located in Auburn, Washington. The tribe governs the Muckleshoot Reservation and is composed of descendants of the Duwamish, Stkamish, Smulkamish, Skopamish, Yilalkoamish, and Upper Puyallup peoples. The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe was formally established in 1936, after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, but its origins lie in the creation of the Muckleshoot Reservation in 1874 and the treaties of Medicine Creek (1854) and Point Elliott (1855).

Name[edit]

The name "Muckleshoot" originally referred only to a prairie, located between the White and Green rivers, and never as a word to refer to the peoples living in this area. Prior to the establishment of the Muckleshoot reservation, the Indigenous peoples of the Green-White river systems were variously called "Green River Indians", "White River Indians", or by their native village terms (such as Skopamish). The name "Muckleshoot" was first recorded in a survey conducted by George Gibbs from 1853-1856, where he recorded "Mukl-shootl", as being a "prairie between the White and Green [rivers]. U.S. Military Station".[1]

The term evolved from referring to a prairie, to referring to a military outpost on the prairie. After the reservation was established at the fort, it took the name of the prairie, and later, was applied to the Indians living at the reservation. The earliest recorded use of "Muckleshoot" to refer to a people was in 1864, by one John Montgomery, who described his wife as "an Indian woman of the Muckleshute Band of the Klikitat Tribe." Montgomery, like other settlers at the time, evidently referred to peoples east of the Cascade mountains indiscriminately as "Klikitats," and likely thought that the "Muckleshutes" of the Muckleshoot Reservation were a sub-group of the "Klikitats", due to close ties between the peoples of the Green and White rivers and the interior peoples. In 1868 and 1870, reports from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs described the "Muckleshoots" and the "Muckleshoot Tribe" living at the Muckleshoot reservation.[2]

History[edit]

Tribal distribution map by Leslie Spier (1936)

The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe is the successor of various groups which lived along the Duwamish River's watershed, and parts of the upper Puyallup River's watershed. These include the:

The Muckleshoot reservation[edit]

Main article: Muckleshoot Reservation § History

The origins of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe lie in the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek and the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott.[3] Although the Stkamish, Skopamish, and Smulkamish bands are mentioned in the preamble to the Treaty of Point Elliott, they did not sign the treaty directly. Along with the Sammamish, they were assumed by the territorial governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens, to be under the control of the Duwamish and Seattle. It was Stevens' desire to alter the traditional political organization of the Indigenous peoples in the area by appointing single "chiefs" as leaders of entire groups, noting the "difficulties in trying to control an indigenous population without strong chiefs and centralized authority." The decision of creating these political officices was not based on the indigenous social organization, and as such, Seattle was appointed as a "head chief" of a Duwamish Tribe that included all the peoples living along the Duwamish watershed, including the Green and White rivers' population.[5] For this reason, the Muckleshoot Tribe has variously claimed that they have both a treaty and non-treaty status. Furthermore, the Muckleshoot Reservation exists on territory ceded by the Treaty of Point Elliott, but was dictated by the Treaty of Medicine Creek (and only the Medicine Creek treaty was ratified at the time), further contributing to the confusion.[6]

The treaties were unpopular with many, and due to the continuing hostility, the Puget Sound War began shortly after, in 1855. At the war's conclusion, during the Fox Island Council, governor Stevens agreed to the estalishment of a new reservation for groups who had not recieved a reservation under the prior treaties. At Fox Island, Stevens agreed that a reservation would be created in all the lands between the White and Green rivers, including Muckleshoot Prairie.[3]

The Muckleshoot Reservation was eventually established on January 20, 1857 by an executive order from U.S. president Franklin Pierce. However, the reservation did not include all the land previously promised at the Fox Island Council, including traditional fishing and village sites. The reservation would be later expanded in 1874 by president Ulysses S. Grant.[3]

Establishment of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe[edit]

In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act allowed Native Americans living on reservations to establish their own governments. The peoples of the Muckleshoot Reservation voted to establish the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. In 1936, they established a constitution and bylaws. At this time, the Muckleshoot Tribe had 194 enrolled members.[3]

Fights for treaty rights[edit]

A large Army quartermaster depot was established in the Green River Valley at the south end of Auburn to take advantage of railways. It served the ports along Puget Sound, supporting the US war effort in the Pacific. In the post-World War II era, Auburn began to be more industrialized. Together with rapid population growth in the region, which developed many suburbs, these changes put pressure on the Muckleshoot and their reservation holdings. Many private land owners tried to prevent them from fishing and hunting in traditional territories.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Muckleshoot engaged in a series of protests,[7] intended at protecting their fragile ecosystem. Known as the Fish Wars, these protests attempted to preserve Muckleshoot fishing rights in nearby rivers that were not within the official reservation. County and state authorities had tried to regulate their fishing off-reservation. Similarly, the state tried to regulate other tribes in their fishing along the coastal waters.

In the Boldt Decision, the federal district court upheld the right of the Muckleshoot and other Treaty peoples to fish from the rivers of the region and hunt in these territories. It ruled that the Native Americans had rights to half the catch in their traditional areas. It designated the Muckleshoot as co-managers of the King County watershed, with control over fishing and hunting in their "Usual and Accustomed" historical fishing and hunting grounds.

While this improved the tribe's economic standing, the Muckleshoot were soon forced to contend with a sharp decline in the salmon population, due to the adverse effects on the environment, especially river water quality, of urbanization and industrialization. Dams on rivers had decreased the fish populations that could get upstream to spawn, and water quality in the rivers had declined. While they continue to fight for the preservation of the ancient salmon runs, the Muckleshoot also found other venues to improve their economy.

Government and politics[edit]

The Muckleshoot organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They adopted a constitution that year that was ratified in 1941, establishing an elected government. The Muckleshoot Tribal Council has nine elected members to represent the tribe. This council is subject, in turn, to the General Council, consisting of all members of the tribe.

On November 6, 2013, the Muckleshoot Tribe bought 150 square miles (390 km2) of forest in Washington state to add to its landholdings.[8]

The Muckleshoot Tribe is one of several tribal governments in the northwestern United States to offer free bus service on its reservation.[9]

Police[edit]

The reservation falls under Public Law 280 jurisdiction, with police services supplied by both King County and Auburn. The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office for police services. As an unincorporated jurisdiction, the Tribe already receives base-level police services from the King County Sheriff's Office. Deputies assigned to the Muckleshoot reservation include six patrol officers, one school resource officer, a storefront deputy, a Muckleshoot Housing Authority deputy and one police chief assigned full-time to the reservation.

Muckleshoot Reservation[edit]

Main article: Muckleshoot Reservation

Most Muckleshoot now live on or near the 15.871 km2 (6.128 sq mi) Muckleshoot Reservation. They have an approximate population of more than 3,000, making the Muckleshoot one of the largest Native American tribes in Washington State. The 2000 census reported a resident population of 3,606 on reservation land, with 28.65 percent reported solely Native American heritage. The Coast Salish and Muckleshoot had long absorbed other peoples into their tribes and have had multi-racial descendants. Their children are raised culturally as Muckleshoot.

The reservation is located on Muckleshoot Prairie, between the White and Green rivers southeast of the city of Auburn (at 47°15′43″N 122°08′45″W / 47.26194°N 122.14583°W / 47.26194; -122.14583) in King and Pierce counties. The city of Auburn overlaps and extends within the reservation. Some 72.6 percent of the reservation's population lives within the city boundaries.

Traditionally, the ancestors of the Muckleshoot lived along the eastern shores of Washington State's Puget Sound region and the adjacent rivers of the Cascade Range. They spoke Whulshootseed, a local form of Lushootseed. Most Muckleshoot today do not speak their ancestral language, but some do. The tribe has an active program for its preservation and resuscitation.

Model of a traditional Coast Salish winter house, located in the White River Valley Museum

Culture[edit]

Muckleshoot Casino hotel under construction, March 2023

Although they were skilled hunters, salmon fishing was the mainstay of traditional Coast Salish life.[10] The people gathered and cured salmon, sometimes trading it with other peoples along the coast and inland. Because it was central to survival, salmon was treated with reverence, which continues to this day.

In the elaborate First Salmon Ceremony, which is still observed, the entire community shares the flesh of a Spring Chinook. They return its remains to the river where it was caught. This is so the salmon can inform the other fish of how well it was received. The other ceremony for the first salmon is to roast it until it becomes ashes. The Muckleshoot toss the bones and ashes back into the water or stream where they took the salmon, believing that the fish would come alive again (be part of a round of new propagation).

With a seemingly endless supply of food, the people could engage in various crafts, including weaving, wood-carving, and basket-making. A complex social structure also emerged, consisting of a nobility, middle class, and slaves. The latter were generally captured members of other tribes taken in raids or warfare.

Economy and services[edit]

The tribe won settlements from Puget Sound Power & Light for the long-term effects of dam construction and the state government for imposing sales taxes on the reservation. It used proceeds from the settlements, as well as revenue from a bingo hall, to purchase more than 800 acres (320 ha) of land on the reservation by 1995.[11]

The Muckleshoot Tribe opened the Muckleshoot Casino in April 1995 following changes to Native American gaming laws. The casino and bingo parlor, built with a tropical theme, included an off-track horse racing betting area.[12] The White River Amphitheatre was developed by the tribe on land adjacent to the casino and opened in June 2003.[13] Revenue from these ventures funded the construction of a new tribal medical facility, tribal administrative offices, and a new Indian Shaker church in the early 2000s.[14]

The Muckleshoot Tribe acquired the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls for $62.5 million in 2007.[15] It sold the site to the Snoqualmie Tribe for $125 million in 2019.[16]

The Muckleshoot Casino was expanded in January 2024 with the opening of an 18-story hotel with 401 rooms. The casino itself was expanded to 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2); a parking garage at the site opened in 2021.[17]

Since 2019, the tribe has signed sponsorship agreements with the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners that include naming rights and jersey sponsorships.[18][19] The Seattle Kraken began wearing a sponsorship patch with the Muckleshoot Tribe's logo during the 2023–24 NHL season. It is believed to be the first sponsorship of a tribe—rather than an Indian casino—in major professional American sports.[20]

Education[edit]

Muckleshoot Tribal Schools is in King County, near Auburn. A modern, K-12 school opened in 2009, providing access to academic and cultural learning as well as 21st century technology.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lane 1973, p. 5-6.
  2. ^ Lane 1973, p. 8-9.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kelleher, Antonia (December 21, 2016). "President Franklin Pierce establishes the Muckleshoot Reservation by executive order on January 20, 1857". HistoryLink. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  4. ^ Lane 1973, p. 10, 30.
  5. ^ Lane 1973, p. 11-22, 30.
  6. ^ Lane 1973, p. 35-37.
  7. ^ Roger S. Powers; William B Vogele; Christopher Kruegler; Ronald M McCarthy, eds. (November 12, 2012). Protest, Power, and Change: An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-UP to Women's Suffrage. Routledge. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-815-30913-0.
  8. ^ "Muckleshoot Tribe buys 150 square miles of forest". HeraldNet.com. November 7, 2013. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  9. ^ https://tribaltransit.com/about/
  10. ^ Johansen, Bruce E (2015). Up from the Ashes: Nation Building at Muckleshoot (1st ed.). Seattle, WA: Seattle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9857764-1-1.
  11. ^ Westneat, Danny (July 26, 1995). "Muckleshoot Tribe rises from ashes of 1970 fire". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  12. ^ Broom, Jack (June 18, 1995). "Table setting: The region's Native American communities place their bets on casino gaming". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  13. ^ MacDonald, Patrick (June 1, 2003). "White River Amphitheatre, a brand-new player on the summer concert scene". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  14. ^ Mapes, Lynda V. (November 27, 2002). "Once invisible, Muckleshoots are now an economic force". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  15. ^ Krishnan, Sonia (October 12, 2007). "Tribe paid $62.5 million for Salish lodge and land". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Cornwell, Paige (November 1, 2019). "Snoqualmie Tribe buys Salish Lodge and adjacent land for $125 million, halting nearby development". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Minnick, Benjamin (January 4, 2024). "Muckleshoot Tribe poised to open hotel at Auburn casino". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  18. ^ "Muckleshoots, Seahawks form 10-year partnership; tribe's rich history will be on display at stadium events". Auburn Reporter. November 4, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Divish, Ryan (August 18, 2023). "Mariners and Muckleshoot Indian Tribe partnership expands". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  20. ^ Baker, Geoff (February 22, 2023). "Kraken announce groundbreaking partnership with Muckleshoot Tribe". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  21. ^ admin. "ABOUT MTS". Muckleshoot Tribal Schools. Retrieved November 16, 2022.

Bibliography[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Johansen, Bruce E (2015). Up from the Ashes: Nation Building at Muckleshoot (1st ed.). Seattle, WA: Seattle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9857764-1-1.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muckleshoot.
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