Swinomish people

The Swinomish people (/ˈswɪnəmɪʃ/ SWIN-ə-mish; Lushootseed: swədəbš) are a Lushootseed-speaking people Indigenous to western Washington state.

The tribe lives in the southeastern part of Fidalgo Island in northern Puget Sound, near the San Juan Islands, in Skagit County, Washington. Skagit County is located about 70 miles (110 km) north of Seattle

Swinomish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, also known as the Swinomish Tribe, which is headquartered in Swinomish Village, across the Swinomish Channel from La Conner.

The Swinomish are a Southern Coast Salish people. The Southern Coast Salish includes the many Lushootseed-speaking peoples as well as the Twana.

The Swinomish are closely related to their historical neighbors, including the Squinamish, Lower Skagit, and Kikiallus peoples. In the early colonial period, whites believed that the Swinomish were a part of the Lower Skagit, however, they were separate and distinct peoples.

According to the 20th century Swinomish historian Martin J. Sampson, the Swinomish people descend from a group of Kikiallus people who left their village at what is now Utsalady to settle in Shelter Bay. After their establishment, they prospered and eventually became their own distinct group. Alternatively, another origin story states that the Swinomish are descended from a noble's son who gained a powerful spirit power, and he and his wife became the ancestor of all peoples.

Around 1830–1835, a major smallpox epidemic blazed through the villages of Skagit County, including the Swinomish. The epidemics reduced the Swinomish populations by up to 80%, according to some estimations. Around 1855, the U.S. government recorded the Swinomish population to be around 150–200 people.

In 1855, the Swinomish were party to the Treaty of Point Elliott. Under the treaty, the Swinomish Reservation was established, and the Swinomish were required to remove to it. Three Swinomish signed the treaty: Belole, Stodumkan, and Kelkahltsoot. The U.S. Government hoped that the Swinomish would turn to farming once the reservation was established. By 1884, about three-fourths of the Swinomish were logging, farming, and milling.