| Regions with significant populations |
|---|
| United States (Washington) |
| Languages |
|
English, Puyallup |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
other Salishan peoples |
The Puyallup are a Coast Salish Native American tribe from western Washington state, U.S.A. They were forcibly relocated onto reservation lands in what is today Tacoma, Washington, in late 1854, after signing the Treaty of Medicine Creek. The Puyallup Indian Reservation today is one of the most urban Indian reservations in the United States. It is located primarily in northern Pierce County, with a very small part extending north into the city of Federal Way, in King County. Parts of seven communities in the Tacoma metropolitan area extend onto reservation land, in addition to reservation land that is not part of any of these communities. In decreasing order of included population, the communities are Tacoma, Waller, Fife, Milton, Edgewood, Puyallup, and Federal Way. The reservation has a land area of 73.935 km² (28.547 sq mi), and a 2000 census resident population of 41,341 persons. Over 72 percent of its residents are Caucasian only, and only 3.2 percent claim to be of solely Native American heritage.
The Puyallup tribe originally spoke the Puyallup Nisqually language of the Salishan family of languages spoken among Northwest Coast indigenous peoples. The tribe also runs the Chief Leschi School for young school-age tribal members.
Bob Satiacum, well known in the 1960s and 1970s as an advocate of Native American rights, particularly treaty fishing rights, was a Puyallup tribal leader.
The current chairman of the Puyallup Tribe is Herman Dillon.[1]
Today, a majority of the tribe's income comes from gaming, especially from the Emerald Queen Casino. However the Puyallup Tribe has been expanding into gas stations.
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The Emerald Queen Casino is a Native-American casino owned and operated by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. The casino is one of the largest in the state of Washington. It is located in two cities Tacoma and Fife.
The Tacoma location, also known as the I-5 location, includes the casino, a restaurant and buffet, a nightclub, and an entertainment venue. A majority of the casino is actually located in a large tent structure. The tent structure was originally meant as a temporary housing, but due to financial troubles within the tribe it has been in use far longer than anticipated. The permanent structure of the casino is located in the old Puyallup Bingo Hall. The I-5 location opened originally in 2001, and the tent addition was opened in 2004.
The Fife location includes a casino and a 140 room hotel. The Fife casino was a previous Best Western hotel, purchased by the tribe in 2004 and converted into a mini-casino by opening up the main floor and removing the pool and meeting rooms. It was opened in early 2005 and in Summer 2007 a major expansion of that location begun. Two parking garages, a pool, a spa, new administrative towers,a ballroom, and a larger gaming area were built. The casino's restaurant, formerly named the Pacific Rim, was moved to the south tower and renamed the Tatoosh Grill. The Pacific Rim Buffet is located on the bottom floor of the tower.
The Puyallup Tribe has lived for thousands of years in the region surrounding the Puget sound. The tribe is part of the Salish speaking peoples who live in the Pacific Northwest. Their particular dialect is "twiheart". In 1792 Captain Vancouver of the Hudson Bay company assigned Lt. Peter Puget to set up a site for trading on the southern part of what became known as the Puget Sound. Over time many people moved out to the region, and were welcome by the Puyallup people to the Puget sound area. Soon however, the settlers outnumbered the tribe and the Puyallup were forced into signing a treaty.
The Tribe signed the “Medicine Creek Treaty” in 1854 which created three reservations : Puyallup, Nisqually and Squaxin Island. The reservations were too small, and as a result the people went to war. In 1856 the tribe renegotiated the treaty. The Puyallup reservation was expanded. Large numbers of tribe members were forced to go live at the reservations in Puyallup. Later congress appointed a number of commissions which used coercive taxation methods, and took advantage of the lack of knowledge about property law to remove land from tribal ownership. In 1950 there were approximately 10 families who still owned land.[2]
In 1936 the Tribal Government was formed by way of the Wheeler Howard Act. The main elements of the tribal government have been divided into two divisions: Tribal Council and the Tribal Court.
The tribal council is an elected body of seven people who oversee the operation of all programs that the tribe manages. The Tribal Council is vested with power to gover by the Constitution which was made under the Wheeler Howard Act. The Council acts as both the legislative and administrative bodies of the government. The Tribal Council serves three year terms, and are elected by the general membership. They operate programs which are open not only to enrolled members, but also to people living in the area, a population which exceeds 32,000. The current makeup, including profiles of the current tribal council can be found at : http://www.puyallup-tribe.com/government/tribal-council/
The Tribal Court and Children's Court (hereinafter “Court”) is enabled under the Puyallup Tribes Constitution. The court's mission statement is to apply the written laws of its legislature, while recognizing the inherent customs and traditions of its people. The Court is devoted to protecting peoples due process rights, especially when those own these rights are without legal representation, or they are children or elders “who are considered sacred”. The Court's Chief Justice is Darwin Long Fox. The schedule and makeup of the Tribal Court can be found at this website: http://www.puyallup-tribe.com/government/tribal-court/.
The Emerald Queen Casino opened in 1997 on an authentic paddlewheel riverboat, the Emerald Queen, berthed in the Port of Tacoma. The boat and its shore side property were closed in 2004 as part of an agreement with the Port of Tacoma to accommodate further development of the waterway. The Emerald Queen is still located at the site; however it is closed to the public indefinitely.