Squaxin Island Tribe


The Squaxin Island Indian Reservation is a Native American tribal government in western Washington state in the United States. The Squaxin Island Tribe is made up of several Lushootseed clans living along several inlets of southern Puget Sound:
The Squaxin Island people originally spoke the Lushootseed language. They were forced onto their reservation in modern-day Mason County, Washington, in 1855. The Squaxin Island Tribe was one of the first Native American tribes in the U.S. to enter into the Self Governance Demonstration Project with the federal government.
The reservation is in southeastern Mason County, Washington. Most of the main reservation is composed of Squaxin Island, but there is also a small part of at Kamilche, in addition to two parcels of off-reservation trust land near Kamilche, as well as a plot of across Pickering Passage from Squaxin Island and a plot of on Harstine Island, across Peale Passage. The total land area including off-reservation trust lands is 6.942 km². Of the total resident population of 405 persons, 383 lived in off-reservation trust land to the southeast of Kamilche, and 22 lived on Harstine Island, while the bulk of the reservation's territory, Squaxin Island, was unpopulated.

Museum

Squaxin Island Tribe had a Squaxin Island Museum, Library and Research Center as early as 2007. The Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center was built circa 2002. The building, designed by a Seattle architecture firm, is shaped to resemble Thunderbird in profile. The property the museum and cultural center stands on was gifted to the tribe by the Taylor family of nearby Taylor Shellfish.

Paddle to Squaxin Island 2012

The Tribal Journeys began in 1989, intending to coincide with the centennial celebration for Washington State. A total of 9 canoes participated in the "Paddle to Seattle" journey, and in 1993, 23 canoes participated in the "Paddle to Bella Bella". Since 1993, "Tribal Journeys" or "The Paddle" has been held annually, with various tribes serving as the host tribe. A total of 102 canoes landed for the "Paddle to Squaxin Island" journey.
An estimated 40,000 people attended or visited the "Paddle to Squaxin Island" journey, hosted by the Squaxin Museum and The Evergreen State College, and funded by a National Endowment for the Arts "Our Town" grant. Protocol and Dining were held in an old baseball field. The quiet community was loud for a whole week. Months before the event, major construction was done. Many parking lots were made, a campground was built and a Reflecting Pond was put in the Tribal Government Campus.
Tribes from around the country and world attended the event, such as New Zealand, Canada, Alaska, etc.