The Snohomish are a Lushootseed Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 tribe

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

 who reside around the Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 area of Washington, north of Seattle. They speak the Lushootseed language. The tribal spelling is Sdoh-doh-hohbsh, which means "wet snow" according to the last chief of the Snohomish tribe, Chief William Shelton

William Shelton (Snohomish Indian)

William Shelton is the last hereditary chief of the Snohomish in Tulalip, Washington. He was also an author, a notable sculptor, and an emissary between the Snohomish people and the United States government....

, though there is debate among historians as to the actual meaning. Some believe it means "a style of union among them of the braves", while others believe it means "Sleeping Waters", while still others believe that the actual spelling is Sdohobich.

The area where the Snohomish tribe lived has become Snohomish County

Snohomish County, Washington

Snohomish County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Snohomish tribe. Since 2000, the county's population has grown from 606,024 to 713,335 residents , making it one of the fastest-growing in the state, ranking third in overall population after King and...

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Some of the last surviving members of the Snohomish tribe live on the Tulalip

Tulalip

Tulalip is a group of Native American peoples from western Washington state in the United States. Today they are federally recognized as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation.- History :...

 reservation, west of the city of Marysville, Washington

Marysville, Washington

Marysville is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 60,020 at the 2010 census. Marysville is known as "The Strawberry City" due to the large number of strawberry farms that once surrounded the city in its earlier days. Over the past decade, and continuing...

, though most live elsewhere. The last surviving members are currently having a difficult time getting official status from the United States Government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

, despite the terms of the Treaty of Point Elliott

Treaty of Point Elliott

The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the nominal Native American tribes of the greater Puget Sound region in the recently-formed...

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Notable Snohomish

• Snah-talc, or Bonaparte, Sub-chief of Snohomish
• Chief Patkanim
  Patkanim
  Patkanim was chief of the Snoqualmoo and Snohomish tribe in what is now modern Washington State....
  
  
• William Shelton
  William Shelton (Snohomish Indian)
  William Shelton is the last hereditary chief of the Snohomish in Tulalip, Washington. He was also an author, a notable sculptor, and an emissary between the Snohomish people and the United States government....
  
  , last chief