Suquamish Tribe (People of the Clear Salt Water)
“The Suquamish and their ancestors have inhabited the Puget Sound area for thousands of years. Before European contact, the region was one of the most populated centers north of what is now Mexico City. Unlike the larger tribes of British Columbia, Alaska, the Plains and the Southwest, the Indians of the Puget Sound lived in relatively small, autonomous villages. Many tribes were affiliated through intermarriage, political agreement, trade, material culture and language.
“The abundance of natural resources and efficient technology for harvesting and preserving food enabled them to develop a rich cultural and spiritual life. The yearly cycle of activities was divided between the harvesting of food from temporary camps in warm months, and communal life in substantial winter houses for social and religious observances and protection against cold weather.” – Tribal website
- Suquamish tribal website
- People of the Clear Salt Water
- Geography/map of Suquamish Territory
- Tribal History, Culture, Language
- Treaty of Point Elliot 1855
“The traditional language of the Suquamish people is Lushootseed, a member of the Coast Salish language group spoken by First Peoples from throughout the Northwest, including the areas surrounding the Puget Sound in Washington State and the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia.” – Tribal website
“We the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians are the most diverse confederation of Tribes and Bands on a single reservation in the United States. Our ancestors spoke 10 completely different languages, each of which had multiple dialects. Our ancestors brought with them deep connections to more than 20 million acres of ancestral territory combined, including all of Western Oregon from the summit of the Cascade mountains to the Pacific and extending into what’s now SW Washington State and northern California. Our ancestors signed many treaties with the United States. We were promised the 1.1 million acres Siletz Reservation as our permanent home, but following massive reservation reductions Congress passed the Western Oregon Termination Act in 1954 (took effect in 1956), and our federally recognized status as a tribe was also taken. In 1977 our lobbying of Congress to repeal our Termination was successful, and we became the second formerly Terminated Tribe to regain federal recognition as a Tribe.” (Source: Tribal website)
Tribal website Ancestral lands, reservation and language group maps Heritage, history and culture
Skookum Tillicum - “This video recounts the history of the Siletz Tribe from our (the Siletz) point of view”
Language & Arts
“The Siletz Language and Traditional Arts program was established in 2003 to teach and promote use of the Siletz Athabaskan Language and Siletz Traditional Arts. The Language program offers a comprehensive array of Language materials for beginners to more advanced speakers. Siletz Dee-ni Language Volumes 1 & 2 offer a graduated approach to learning basic nouns, simple greetings and goodbyes and table talk. Volume 3 deals with verbs and verb conjugation and Athabaskan sentence structure. These Volumes of materials play on most standard computers, with the written word and the audio combined for ease of learning. Included with the audio and visual lessons are Word documents and tests that can printed for personal study and assessment. The Nuu-Wee-ya’ (Our words) Athabaskan Language Dictionary is completed and now available, along with an online ‘Talking Dictionary’. These resources can be found in the Member Area under ‘Our Language’”.
“The Language Program is also being taught in the Siletz Valley School, along with community classes ongoing monthly in the Siletz, Portland, Salem and Eugene Area offices. Traditional Arts are also taught in the Area offices prior to Language classes. The classes are scheduled two months in advance and posted in the Siletz News and in Area Newsletters. We also conduct seasonal gatherings of basket materials and teach Siletz basketry, regalia making and other Siletz traditions.” (Source: Tribal website))
Traditional lands and Reservation
When first contacted by Europeans, “the Nation held dominion over a sprawling territory comprised of much or most of the modern states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.” A forced removal, the “Trail of Tears” relocated them to what is now a 14-county reservation in Oklahoma, with many At Large tribal members located all over the world.
Languages
Tsalagi (Cherokee) is the traditional language of the Cherokee Nation. Fluent speakers are dwindling and the tribe is making massive efforts to ensure that the next generations will be able to speak the language that expresses so much in a way that English does not capture.
Tsalagi has a written form that is based on a syllabary rather than an alphabet. Each spoken syllable in the language is represented by one of 85 distinct characters.
- Gary Ogan
Kaw Nation (People of the Southwind)
“The Kaw Nation derived its name from the Siouan aca, ‘south wind,’ a reference to the tribe’s role in war ceremonials, using the power of the wind when recognizing warriors. Among the many variations of the name given by French traders and other Europeans were ‘Kanza’ or ‘Kansa.’ By the mid-18th century, the ‘Wind People’ were the predominant tribe in what became the state to which they gave their name (Kansas). Their territory extended over most of present-day northern and eastern Kansas, with hunting grounds extending far to the west.” (Source: tribal website)
Kaw Nation Celebrates Major Step in Return to Kansas 2:23 Official 2014
After more than 140 years, the Indians of the Kaw Nation are dancing again in their homeland of Kansas. The tribe held ritual dances Saturday south of Council Grove.
Kaw nation's ties to Kansas – KSNT News 3:47 Official 2014
Kaw Nation reclaims prayer rock exhibited for nearly 100 years in honor of white settlers 2023 "Twenty-four ton quartzite boulder headed to memorial park in Council Grove.”
"More than 400 years ago a single language was shared among a large number of towns along the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Alabama, Chattohoochee, and Flint Rivers of Alabama and Georgia. It was the most widely spoken language in the region, used for diplomacy, medicine, and personal names even in towns where other languages were used for everyday speech. The language the people shared came to be known as the language of the Muscogee people. English settlers later called it Creek. "
"The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Language Department is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the language. The department produces learning resources and provides language teachers to local communities and schools that offer language classes."
"Learn how to introduce yourself and ask others to introduce themselves in this bite-sized Mvskoke video lesson!" (Mvskoke is an alternate spelling of Muscogee)
Introductions | Mini Mvskoke Lessons 0:42 Official 2024
“Mission Statement: The mission of the Wiyot Tribe is to exercise our tribal rights and promote our common welfare, to establish the supreme law of the Tribe, to provide for and protect our sovereign right to exercise self-government pursuant to our own laws, to protect and develop our lands and resources, and to promote and safeguard our aboriginal rights as Wiyot people.” (source: Tribal website)
- Rick Bartow
Wasco, Warm Springs, Paiute tribes
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs website
Common Ground » Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs 11:07 Official 2020
Oral History with Wilson Wewa, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs 7:12 Official 2020
Oregon Encounters. Chapter 4 – High Desert Museum
9 Tribes of Oregon Film (EUDL) - 44:19 Official 2016
Warm Springs Prevention Team/Community Counseling Center
Homelands, Treaty and Culture - Natural History Pub – High Desert Museum 48:14 Official 2022
Warm Springs Reservation (Wikipedia)
“WELCOME TO OUR SACRED LANDS - The Mescalero Apache Tribe, located in South Central New Mexico, welcomes you to familiarize yourself with our history, traditions, and the current vision of our Tribe.”
Anishinaabe (Anishinabek Nation)
“The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI was established because the Anishinabek Nation did not legally exist and a legal entity was required to enter into legally-binding agreements. The Anishinabek Nation is a political advocate for 39 member First Nations across Ontario. The Anishinabek Nation is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.
“The Anishinabek Nation represents 39 First Nations throughout the province of Ontario from Golden Lake in the east, Sarnia in the south, Thunder Bay and Lake Nipigon in the north. The 39 First Nations have an approximate combined population of 65,000 citizens, one third of the province of Ontario’s First Nation population. The Anishinabek Nation has four strategic regional areas: Southwest, Southeast, Lake Huron and Northern Superior. Each region is represented by a Regional Deputy Grand Council Chief.”
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
“The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is a tribal government representing over 36,000 Tlingit and Haida Indians worldwide. We are a sovereign entity and have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
“Tlingit & Haida is currently working to expand its offices throughout Alaska and the lower 48. Our commitment to serving the Tlingit and Haida people extends throughout the United States.” – Tribal website
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska website Tribal overview Tribal history
Blackfeet Nation
“The Blackfeet Indian Reservation is home to the 17,321-member Blackfeet Nation, one of the 10 largest tribes in the United States. Established by treaty in 1855, the reservation is located in northwest Montana.” Source: Tribal website
We Are Yakama Strong – Documentary 7:09 Official 2025
Chasing The American Dream: Delbert Wheeler -- Standing by Yakama's 1855 Treaty 27:28 Official
Native Woman Strong: Trina Wheeler -- Living by Yakama's 1855 Treaty 17:48
The Inupiat[2] (singular: Iñupiaq[3]), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border.[4][5][6][7] Their current communities include 34 villages across Iñupiat Nunaat (Iñupiaq lands), including seven Alaskan villages in the North Slope Borough, affiliated with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; eleven villages in Northwest Arctic Borough; and sixteen villages affiliated with the Bering Straits Regional Corporation.[8] They often claim to be the first people of the Kauwerak.[9]
baɫu•ɫ ʔiyax̌aqeysa• Di•ya, ʔuʔɫtʔiq ʔukti•p kʷiči•ye•ʔiq ʔiš waɫa•yuʔu•c Qʷidiččaʔa•tx̌iq — ʔa•ba•qƛ̓iɫtʔiq ƛ̓a•yi•cuxʷadi•.
“Welcome while you are in Neah Bay, the beginning of the world and the home of the Makah — the Cape People.”
“The qʷidiččaʔa·tx̌ (Makah) welcome you to learn more about us.
“Makah spoken history tells the story of ancient times when the Makah People, the qʷidiččaʔa·tx̌ lived in a world that revolved around the sea and land. Yet it never lets one forget the great cultural changes that brought the tribe to where it is today, a sovereign nation in its traditional homeland. Tribal members live both on and off the reservation and throughout the world practicing an intertwined contemporary and native culture. The Makah, both past and present, have demonstrated their ability to adapt, survive and flourish. Until historic times, the tribe was composed of five principal winter villages. The prehistoric population of the Makah is estimated between approximately 2,000 to 4,000 people. Today there are roughly 1,500 living in and around Neah Bay. We invite you to learn more about our tribe, history, and traditions….”
"Historically, the Nez Perce Tribe functioned as a self-governing nation. Later, treaties with the federal government preserved the tribe’s status as a sovereign nation within the United States."
For more information visit: https://www.nezpercecultural.org/
Traditional Ways
"Originally, the Nimiipuu people occupied an area that included parts of present-day Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. They moved throughout this region and parts of what are now Montana and Wyoming to fish, hunt, and trade.
"The Nez Perce Tribe’s government included a leader for many aspects of their traditional lifeways, such as fishing, hunting, warfare, and religion. Councils guided the decisions of each leader. The Nimiipuu people chose leaders and council members based on their knowledge and skill sets.
"Today, many traditional ways remain part of our tribal culture."
Treaties
"During the 1855 treaty negotiations at Walla Walla, the Tribe insisted on retaining these inherent rights. Tribal leaders negotiated retention of approximately 7.5 million acres to be protected as the Tribe’s exclusive reservation.
"Once gold was discovered, mass trespass and theft took place within the Tribe’s reservation. Instead of protecting the reservation from encroachment, the federal government forced the Tribe into a second treaty in 1863, which reduced the reservation to about 750,000 acres. A third treaty in 1868 primarily dealt with timber trespass issues.
"In 1871, the federal government ceased the treaty-making process with Tribes. However, the federal government later imposed the Allotment Act upon the Tribe, sending a surveyor to determine and assign parcels to individual tribal members, then declaring the remaining reservation area open for non-Indian settlement. An 1893 Agreement ultimately reflected this new process. This is why today’s reservation is deemed to be a “checkerboard” reservation, where Indian allotments are intermingled with non-Indian parcels to create a complex jurisdictional landscape.
"Throughout the treaty-making process, the Nez Perce Tribe retained the inherent right to fish at usual and accustomed fishing stations, and to hunt, gather and graze livestock on open and unclaimed lands, all outside of the reservation boundary. These off-reservation rights have been upheld on numerous occasions in state court cases, citing treaty rights as the supreme law of the land."
Cayuse – Umatilla – Walla Walla
Our Mission
"In the best interests of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Board of Trustees shall exert the Tribes' sovereign authority to protect the rights reserved by the Treaty of 1855 and to promote the interests of the members and residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The Board of Trustees shall exercise the authority of the Confederated Tribes so as to promote, enhance, and achieve the maximum degree of self-government, self-sufficiency, and self-determination in all Tribal affairs. Doing so objectively and ably is the abiding mission of the Board of Trustees of the Umatilla Indian Reservation."
“Language for the people of Nixyáawii, the place of many springs”
Mission Statement
“The CTUIR Language Program will work towards revitalization of the Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Weyíiletpuu languages. And will preserve, retrieve, document, teach and increase or restore language usage to tribal English-first speakers and beginner native language speakers and wholeheartedly involve all fluent speakers to their full capacity.”
“The Twelve Bands compose the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation: Chelan, Chief Joseph Band of Nez Perce, Colville, Entiat, Lakes, Methow, Moses-Columbia, Nespelem, Okanogan, Palus, San Poil, Wenatchi.”
“The traditional territories of the Colville Tribes extend across eastern Washington and into portions of British Columbia, Oregon and Idaho. This expanse covers approximately 39 million acres as the traditional territories of the Lakes, Colville, Okanogan, Moses-Columbia, Wenatchi, Entiat, Chelan, Methow, Nespelem, Sanpoil, Chief Joseph Band of Nez Perce and Palus Tribes.”
Reservation size: 1.4 million acres (2,100 sq. miles), Tribal Enrollment total: 9,290
Geography/map of Colville Territory Colville Tribal history Colville Tribal website
- Jim Boyd
Kalapuya/Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
“The story of the Grand Ronde Tribe is a story of a people’s resilience, a people’s relationship to place, and a people’s perseverance through their culture. As a tribe, the responsibility to tell our history and our own story lies with ourselves and no one else.” -- Cheryle A. Kennedy, Chairwoman, Grand Ronde Tribal Council, June 5, 2018
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde website Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center
Our Story History and Culture Treaties Tribal History Curriculum
“The Yupik (plural: Yupiit) (/ˈjuːpɪk/; Russian: Юпикские народы) are a group of indigenous or aboriginal peoples of western, southwestern, and southcentral Alaska and the Russian Far East. They are related to the Inuit and Iñupiat. Yup’ik peoples include the following:
“Alutiiq, or Sugpiaq, of the Alaska Peninsula and coastal and island areas of southcentral Alaska.
Yup'ik or Central Alaskan Yup'ik of the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, the Kuskokwim River, and along the northern coast of Bristol Bay as far east as Nushagak Bay and the northern Alaska Peninsula at Naknek River and Egegik Bay in Alaska..
Siberian Yupik, including Naukan, Chaplino,[2] and — in a linguistic capacity — the Sirenik[3] of the Russian Far East and St. Lawrence Island[4] in western Alaska”.-- (Source Wikipedia).
Coeur d’Alene Tribe (Schitsu’umsh)
“The modern Coeur d’Alene Tribe is the sum of uncounted centuries of untold generations. In the tribe’s own ancient language, it is called Schitsu’umsh, meaning ‘Those who were found here’ or ‘The discovered people’. In this remains a land abundant in beauty and resources, a legacy of leadership, and a lineage that continues from the time immemorial. The Coeur d’Alenes are who they always were and who they will always be.”
“The original name of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe was Schitsu’umsh, meaning ‘Those who were found here’ or ‘The discovered people’. This has been our name since time immemorial. Before U.S. expansion into the area, the Schitsu’umsh would trade with French fur traders, who referred to the Schitsu’umsh as Coeur d’Alene’s, meaning “Heart of the Awl”. This too is our name and was received due to the sharp and disciplined trading practices of the Schitsu’umsh people.” (Source Tribal website)
The Three Shawnee Tribes
The Shawnee are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their
language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language.
Today, Shawnee people are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes, the Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and
Shawnee Tribe, all headquartered in Oklahoma.
“The Absentee Shawnee Tribe gained their “absentee” distinction because their groups
were not present at the signing of the 1854 treaty for a Kansas Reservation. Instead of
settling on surplus lands in Kansas, these Absentee Shawnees had opted to migrate
into Indian Territory (Oklahoma) or Mexico territory (Texas).”
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
Shawnee Tribe
“Considered one of the great tribes of the American Southwest, the Comanche Nation, and in our native language, “Nʉmʉnʉʉ” (NUH-MUH-NUH), which means “The People" are known as “Lords of the Plains” and were once a part of the Shoshone Tribe. In the late 1600s and early 1700s, we moved from our Shoshone kinsmen onto the northern Plains and then southerly in search of a new homeland. We Migrated across the Plains through Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. We ultimately settled here in Southwest Oklahoma.”
History of the Comanche Nation