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The Duwamish Tribe, officially known as the Duwamish Tribal Organization, is an unrecognized tribe of Duwamish people (Lushootseed: dxʷdəwʔabš), and those who identify as their descendants, based in Seattle, Washington.

The Duwamish Tribe is an unrecognized tribe. They are neither a federally recognized tribe nor a state-recognized tribe. They have petitioned for federal recognition as the Duwamish Indian Tribe several times, most recently in 2019, but were denied. In 2022, the Duwamish Tribe filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of their effort to gain federal recognition.

The Duwamish Tribe has operated the Duwamish Tribal Services since 1979, a nonprofit dedicated to serving the needs of their members.

History

Historical context

The Duwamish were one of the signatory tribes of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. Under this treaty, the Duwamish and other peoples ceded their land to the United States. In return, among other things, the Duwamish were promised the creation of a reservation for their people, as well as fishing and hunting rights. Although the Suquamish Reservation was established intending for the Duwamish to move there, many Duwamish people chose to remain in their homelands near Seattle.

In 1856, at the Fox Island Council, then-Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens agreed to create the Muckleshoot Reservation, a reservation for all the peoples continuing to live on the Duwamish River watershed (including the Green and White rivers), as an attempt to get the Duwamish and others to move to a reservation. Although many did move to the reservation, many Duwamish continued to resist moving.

In 1866, Superintendent of Indian Affairs proposed the creation of another reservation in Duwamish homelands. However, virtually all of the establishment of the town of Seattle was against its creation, and many pioneers, including David Denny, Henry Yesler, and David "Doc" Maynard, petitioned against it, writing "such a reservation would do a great injustice" and be "of little value to the Indians." Hearing the settlers' complaints, the proposal was shut down.

The modern Duwamish Tribe

In 1925, the Duwamish Tribe drafted a constitution and bylaws for their new organization.

In 1979, the Duwamish Tribe established the Duwamish Tribal Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the members of the Duwamish Tribe.

In June 1988, 72 descendants of early Washington settlers reversed their ancestors' petition against a Duwamish Reservation and petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs in support of federal recognition of the Duwamish Tribe. The signers were members of the Pioneer Association of the State of Washington, which maintains Pioneer Hall in Madison Park as a meeting hall and archive of pioneer records.

In March 2013, Judge John Coughenour ordered the Department of Interior to reconsider or explain the denial of the Tribe's petition. The BIA responded in July 2015 with a conclusion that the Duwamish do not meet the criteria for federal recognition.

In May 2022, the Duwamish Tribe once again sued for federal recognition as they filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Petitions for federal recognition

The Duwamish Tribe has unsuccessfully petitioned the US Department of the Interior for federal recognition several times. They first submitted their letter of intent in 1977, however they were denied in 1996, and once again on July 19, 2019.

In March 2013, Federal Judge John C. Coughenour granted summary judgement in Hansen et al v. Salazar ordering the Department of Interior to reconsider or explain the denial of the Tribe's petition; however, they were denied two years later in July, stating that they do not meet the criteria for federal recognition.

1977 petition

The Duwamish Tribal Organization chose to petition for federal recognition under the 1978 criteria, as opposed to the revised 1994 criteria. In the 1996 proposed finding, the organization's petition was declined due to meeting four criteria for being a tribe but failing to meet three others. The preliminary finding "found that the DTO was a new organization established in 1925" which did not "arise out of an earlier organization."

The Bureau of Indian Affairs found that the historic Duwamish tribal members who signed the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott known was the "D'Wamish and other allied tribes" belonged to several federally recognized tribes:

"These treaty tribes moved to four reservations and the separate tribes and bands eventually consolidated as four reservation tribes that continue today as the Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and Tulalip Tribes of Washington. A few Duwamish tribal members moved to the Muckleshoot Reservation after its creation in 1857. The petitioner's ancestors, primarily Duwamish Indian women who married non-Indian settlers, did not go to the reservations with the treaty tribes. Rather, before and after the treaty, they left the tribes as individuals and families and, by the 1880s, lived dispersed throughout western Washington. There is no evidence that their descendants, who are the DTO's ancestors, maintained tribal relations with the “D'Wamish and other allied tribes” on the reservations or that they were a part of a community of similarly situated Duwamish descendants."

The final determination also stated:

"The DTO petitioner first came into existence in 1925 when eight men announced their 'intention of forming' an organization. No evidence indicates this new organization was a continuation of the historical “D'Wamish and other allied tribes” on the reservations or that it evolved as a group from them."

Other bids for recognition

In 2015, Representative Jim McDermott introduced a bill (HR 2176) to extend federal recognition to the Duwamish Tribe; however, no actions were taken on the bill after its introduction.

In May 2022, the Duwamish Tribe and Cecile Hansen filed a federal lawsuit against Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior in their efforts to obtain federal recognition.

Duwamish Tribal Services

The Duwamish Tribal Services incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1979, and receiving an IRS ruling in 1981.

Officers of the organization include:

• President: Guadalupe Barnes (2022)
• Vice President: Cecile A. Hansen (2021)
• Chief: Charlie Sotiakum (2021)
• Secretary: John Cruce (2021)

The nonprofit's assets in 2022 totaled $9,893,135. In 2022, they received $4,663,578 in grants and contributions. In 2021, the Network for Good donated $2,861,014 to the nonprofit. The American Online Giving Foundation and Group Health Foundation also provided grants in 2021. In 2023, Seattle Pride provided a grant of $15,000.

Duwamish Tribal Services owns and operates the Chief Si?ahl Duwamish Longhouse and Culture Center.

In 2017, non-Native fundraisers created a charity campaign, Rent Real Duwamish, to generate support and income for the organization.

See also

• Duwamish people
• History of the Duwamish tribe

Notes

1. ^ "Petition #025: Duwamish Indian Tribe, WA". Office of Federal Acknowledgment. U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs. July 19, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
2. ^ Washburn, Kevin (July 8, 2015). "Final Decision on Remand Against Federal Acknowledgment of the Duwamish Tribal Organization". Federal Register. 80 (FR 39142): 39142–44. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
3. ^ "Duwamish Tribal Services". Cause IQ. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
4. ^ "Duwamish Tribal Services". GuideStar. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
5. "Duwamish Tribal Organization (Washington)". National Indian Law Library. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
6. Bates, Dawn; Hess, Thom; Hilbert, Vi (1994). Lushootseed Dictionary. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-97323-4. OCLC 29877333.
7. "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible to Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. Federal Register. January 12, 2023. pp. 2112–16. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
8. "State Recognized Tribes". National Conference of State Legislatures. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
9. Davey, Stephanie (February 2, 2020). "Point Elliott Treaty returns to tribes here, 165 years later". Herald Net. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
10. ^ McCaleb, Neal A. (September 25, 2001). "Summary Under the Criteria and Evidence for Final Determination under 25 C.F.R. 83 for the Duwamish Tribal Organization" (PDF). Office of Federal Acknowledgment. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
11. ^ Mapes, Lynda V. (May 29, 2022). "'Real' Duwamish: Seattle's first people and the bitter fight over federal recognition". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
12. "spuyaləpabš: syəcəb ʔə tiił ʔiišədčəł". Puyallup Tribe. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
13. Castro, Hector; Barber, Mike (January 20, 2001). "After decades, Duwamish tribe wins federal recognition: Now they have it, but it doesn't mean fishing rights". Seattle P-I. Archived from the original on December 23, 2001.
14. David, Wilma (January 20, 2001). "Seattle pioneers petition against a reservation on the Black River for the Duwamish tribe in 1866". HistoryLink. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
15. Boxberger, Daniel L. (2014). "Duwamish". Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. London: Taylor & Francis. pp. 172–173. ISBN 9781135638542.
16. Wilma (January 24, 2001), Essay 2956
17. ^ "Hansen et al v. Kempthorne et al, No. 2:2008cv00717 - Document 105 (W.D. Wash. 2013)". Justia Law. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
18. ^ "Final Decision on Remand Against Federal Acknowledgment of the Duwamish Tribal Organization". Federal Register. July 8, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
19. ^ "Duwamish Tribe files lawsuit in bid for federal recognition". The Seattle Times. May 11, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
20. Long, Priscilla (January 20, 2001). "Duwamish Tribe wins federal recognition on January 19, 2001, but loses it again two days later". HistoryLink.
21. McCaleb, "Final Determination," pp. 1–2
22. McCaleb, "Final Determination," p. 4
23. "H.R.2176 - Duwamish Tribal Recognition Act". Congress.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2023.

References

• McCaleb, Neal A. (September 25, 2001). "Summary Under the Criteria and Evidence for Final Determination under 25 C.F.R. 83 for the Duwamish Tribal Organization" (PDF). Office of Federal Acknowledgment. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 26, 2023.

External links

• Duwamish Tribe, Seattle, WA
• Duwamish Longhouse and Culture Center, Seattle, WA

v t e Lushootseed-speaking peoples of Puget Sound
Lushootseed language	Grammar Lushootseed grammar Dialects Northern Southern
Culture	Salishan oral narratives dukʷibəɬ Transformer/Changer Spirit Powers Ayahos
Peoples	Northern peoples Skagit peoples Skagit Swinomish Nuwhaha Kikiallus Sauk Stillaguamish Snohomish Southern peoples Skykomish Snoqualmie Shilshole Duwamish Sammamish Suquamish Puyallup Steilacoom Nisqually Sahewamish
Federally recognized tribes	Upper Skagit Indian Tribe Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Tulalip Tribes of Washington Suquamish Tribe Snoqualmie Indian Tribe Muckleshoot Indian Tribe Puyallup Tribe of Indians Nisqually Indian Tribe Squaxin Island Tribe
Reservations	Swinomish Indian Reservation Port Madison Indian Reservation Nisqually Reservation
Non-recognized groups	Duwamish Tribe Steilacoom Tribe

• Cultural organizations based in Washington (state)
• Duwamish
• Non-profit organizations based in Seattle
• 1925 establishments in Washington (state)
• 1979 establishments in Washington (state)
• Unrecognized tribes in the United States