We acknowledge that RTC sits uninvited on the ancestral land of the Puget Salish people, including the Duwamish, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot Nations. We are grateful to the original inhabitants of this land, upon which we gather and dialogue. We also acknowledge our increasingly virtual world, in which RTC’s work is done across multiple indigenous lands, in some cases, away from Puget Salish territories. We thank the original caretakers of our local lands and waters, who are still here.
Beyond acknowledgment, we each have an obligation to learn about and support our local tribes. Find out how on our resources page, which includes scholarships for Indigenous students.
About Land Acknowledgments
Each tab in this box gives a little information about each tribe including a link to the main webpage for the tribe, history (when available) from HistoryLink.org, educational services and links to events, issues and places related to that tribe.
"We are the host tribe for Seattle, our area’s only indigenous tribe. Many of our enrolled members still live on Duwamish aboriginal territory, which includes Seattle, Burien, Tukwila, Renton, and Redmond. Our tribe is governed by a 1925 constitution and its bylaws. The six-members* tribal council, headed by Cecile Hansen since 1975, meets monthly, and tribal gatherings are held at least annually. Tribal leadership has been very stable with fewer than six changes in leadership in the last 85 years." -- Who We Are - History of the Duwamish
"The Suquamish People continue to live in the place of their ancestors, and practice their traditional life ways on the Port Madison Indian Reservation. The Suquamish Tribal Government supports programs and services that work to carry the culture of the Suquamish People to the next generation and beyond. The Suquamish Tribe funds comprehensive language programs, education and cultural activities for Tribal families as well as educational programs for the public through the Suquamish Museum." -- Suquamish Today
"The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe (sdukʷalbixʷ in our Native language) consists of Native Americans from the Puget Sound region of Washington State. The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is made up of approximately 500 members.
Tribal members have lived in the Puget Sound region since time immemorial. Long before explorers came to the Pacific Northwest, our people hunted deer and elk, fished for salmon, and gathered berries and wild plants for food and medicine. Today, many live in Snoqualmie, North Bend, Fall City, Carnation, Issaquah, Mercer Island, and Monroe.
Tribal members were signatories of the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, which reserved Native American Tribes in the Puget Sound area, including Snoqualmie, the right to hunt, fish, and live in the places they had done so for thousands of years. At the time, the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe was one of the largest in the Puget Sound region totaling around 4,000. The Tribe lost federal recognition in 1953 but regained Bureau of Indian Affairs recognition in 1999. This allowed the Tribe to develop the Snoqualmie Casino which financially supports services and resources for Tribe members and the local community.
The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is governed by an elected Council and Tribal Constitution."
--About the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe
"The Tulalip (pronounced Tuh’-lay-lup) Tribes, successors in interest to the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish, and other allied tribes and bands signatory to the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott." -- Tulalip Tribes Who We Are/About Us
"The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe whose membership is composed of descendants of the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup people who inhabited Central Puget Sound for thousands of years before non-Indian settlement. The Tribe’s name is derived from the native name for the prairie on which the Muckleshoot Reservation was established. Following the Reservation’s establishment in 1857, the Tribe and its members came to be known as Muckleshoot, rather than by the historic tribal names of their Duwamish and Upper Puyallup ancestors. Today, the United States recognizes the Muckleshoot Tribe as a tribal successor to the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup bands from which the Tribe’s membership descends." -- About Us - Overview
