Lummi Nation

The Lummi Nation (/ˈlʌmi/ LUH-mee; Lummi: Xwlemi [xʷləˈmi] or Lhaq'temish; officially the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation) is a federally recognized tribe of primarily Lummi people located in western Washington. The Lummi Nation also includes some Nooksack, Samish, and other local tribes, which were removed to the reservation in Whatcom County.

The Lummi originally inhabited many settlements on the San Juan Islands. However, due to high amounts of raiding from northern peoples and disease, they migrated to the mainland, settling around the lower Nooksack River. They displaced or assimilated the people living there at the time, the Skalakhan and Hulwhaluq. The villages that they occupied on the mainland were fortified with large stockades, which they used to defend themselves from the northern raiders.

In 1855, the predecessor tribes of the Lummi Nation (including the Lummi people) were signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott, which was signed at modern-day Muckilteo. Chowitsoot, one of the Lummi leaders at the time, signed the treaty for the Lummi "and other tribes." 13 additional people signed the treaty for the Lummi. The treaty demanded that the Lummi cede the title to their lands, and in return, the 12,562.94 acre Lummi Reservation was established near the mouth of the Nooksack River, on the Lummi Peninsula.

On November 22, 1873, the Lummi Reservation was enlarged to 13,600 acres.

In 1897, the case United States v. Alaska Packers' Association disallowed the Lummi on the reservation from removing non-Native fishermen in their fisheries. Following this, much of the recent history of the Lummi Nation has been marked by a struggle to regain their fishing rights. Following steady increases in the number of individuals and firms fishing in areas traditionally fished by the Lummi, the nation fought for and gained limited protection under the law for the right to fish in their traditional manner. The Lummi Nation was part of the broader fight for fishing and treaty rights, which came to a head in 1974 with United States v. Washington (commonly known as the Boldt Decision).

In 1970, the Lummi Nation adopted a new constitution which gave the Business Council broader powers.

Since the late 20th century, the Lummi Nation has worked to revive elements of its traditional culture. From July 30 to August 4, 2007, the Lummi Nation hosted its first potlatch since the 1930s as part of the Tribal Canoe Journeys Paddle to Lummi. During the event, 68 families paddled handmade canoes to the Lummi Reservation from parts of Washington and British Columbia.

In 2017, the Lummi Nation declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of the 2017 Cypress Island Atlantic salmon pen break. They recaptured most of the recovered non-native, farmed Atlantic salmon. The Lummi and other parties interested in the fisheries of the Northwest were very worried about Atlantic salmon interfering with those of the Pacific waters and rivers.^{[citation needed]}