Suquamish
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Suquamish is a group of Native American peoples from western Washington state in the United States. The Suquamish people settled onto reservation lands after signing the Point Elliott Treaty with the former Washington Territory on January 22, 1855. The reservation's main population lives near Poulsbo, Washington.
The Suquamish language belongs to the Salishan family of languages among Northwest Coast indigenous peoples. Like many Northwest Coast natives, the Suquamish relied on fishing from local rivers and Puget Sound for food and built plank houses (longhouses) to protect themselves from the harsh, wet winters west of the Cascade Mountains.
The best known member of the Suquamish tribe (who was also by blood part of the Duwamish tribe) was Chief Seattle for whom the city of Seattle is named. Ironically, the "chief" part of his name is attributed to European settlers as the Lushootseed language of the Suquamish people has no word for "chief".
External links
- Suquamish Tribe (Port Madison Indian Reservation) homepage (http://www.suquamish.nsn.us/)
- Suquamish Tribe culture and history page (http://www.suquamish.nsn.us/SuqCult.htm)