Port Madison Indian Reservation
Encyclopedia
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
in northern Kitsap County, Washington. It occupies 30.273 km² (11.689 sq mi) on the western and northern shores of Port Madison
Port Madison
Port Madison, sometimes called Port Madison Bay, is a deep water bay located on the west shore of Puget Sound in western Washington. It is bounded on the north by Indianola, on the west by Suquamish, and on the south by Bainbridge Island. Port Madison connects to Port Orchard via the Agate Pass...
, and is divided into two separate parcels by Miller Bay. The unincorporated towns of Suquamish
Suquamish, Washington
Suquamish is a census-designated place in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,140 at the 2010 census. Located within the Port Madison Indian Reservation, it is the burial site of Chief Seattle.-Geography:...
and Indianola
Indianola, Washington
Indianola is a census-designated place in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, located on the north shore of Port Madison on the Port Madison Indian Reservation, home of the Suquamish Indian Tribe. The population was 3,500 at the 2010 census...
both lie within the bounds of the reservation. A resident population of 6,536 persons was counted in the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
The reservation was authorized by the Point Elliott Treaty of January 22, 1855, for the Suquamish
Suquamish
The Suquamish are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American Tribe, located in present-day Washington in the United States.The Suquamish are a southern Coast Salish people; they spoke a dialect of Lushootseed, which belongs to the Salishan language family. Like many Northwest Coast natives, the...
tribe, and was established by an executive order issued October 21, 1864. Members of the Duwamish
Duwamish (tribe)
The Duwamish are a Lushootseed Native American tribe in western Washington, and the indigenous people of metropolitan Seattle, where they have been living since the end of the last glacial period...
and Sammamish
Sammamish (tribe)
The Sammamish people were a Coast Salish Native American tribe in the Sammamish River Valley in central King County, Washington. Their name is variously translated as "meander dwellers"" or "willow people." They were also known to early European-American settlers as "Squak", "Simump", and...
tribes also moved to the reservation. When the land was reserved by the Point Elliott Treaty, all land was held by tribal members and designated for their sole use. However, a series of procedures designed to accommodate non-Indian expansion and land acquisition have created a situation today where the reservation is widely interspersed with non-tribal ownership.
Chief Seattle
Chief Seattle
Chief Seattle , was a Dkhw’Duw’Absh chief, also known as Sealth, Seathle, Seathl, or See-ahth. A prominent figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with David Swinson "Doc" Maynard. Seattle, Washington was named after him...
’s grave is located on the reservation within the town of Suquamish
Suquamish, Washington
Suquamish is a census-designated place in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,140 at the 2010 census. Located within the Port Madison Indian Reservation, it is the burial site of Chief Seattle.-Geography:...
.