The Duwamish Tribe are the Indigenous people whose ancestral homeland includes what is now Seattle and much of central King County, Washington. In 1855, the Duwamish, led by Chief Seattle and Duwamish subchiefs, were principal signatories to the Treaty of Point Elliott, alongside the Suquamish. We call ourselves dəw̓abš (translated as "People of the Inside") and are part of the larger Coast Salish cultural and linguistic family. We have lived in the region since time immemorial, with villages along the Duwamish, Black, and Cedar Rivers, Elliott Bay, Lake Washington, and surrounding waterways.

The Duwamish Tribe has approximately 777 enrolled members.

The Duwamish Tribe identifies its traditional territory through a combination of oral history, archaeology, historical records, The Point Elliott Treaty, and the continuity of our community and cultural practices. These sources document the Duwamish people's long-standing relationship with the lands and waters of what is now the Seattle area.

Today, the Tribe continues to reside throughout its traditional homelands, as well as in adjacent areas where tribal members settled following the displacement from their traditional villages. Others live throughout the United States, with a small number residing internationally. Unlike many federally recognized tribes and intertribal groups, the Duwamish do not have a reservation because the reservation promised under the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott was never established. As a result, tribal members live in many different communities while maintaining strong cultural and familial ties to their ancestral homeland. Many return regularly for tribal gatherings, cultural programs, and community events.

Please visit our books page for a selection of notable books about Duwamish history, culture, and people.

Notable Mention: 2002 Duwamish Tribe Oral History Project 

An invaluable collection of interviews and stories shared by Duwamish elders and tribal members, preserving community history in their own voices. It is available at The Seattle Public Library (in-library use only).

The Duwamish Longhouse is located along the lower Duwamish River at 4705 West Marginal Way SW, Seattle, WA, 98106. It sits directly across the street from historic village site həʔapus (hah-AH-poos), formerly known as T-107. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a significant location within the Tribe’s ancestral homeland.  

You can see our Event Calendar at duwamishtribe.org/events and get notified about events by signing up for the Duwamish Tribe mailing list at the bottom of the website. You can also follow the Tribe on Facebook and Instagram.

Public events are announced through our mailing list, which you can sign up for at the bottom of www.duwamishtribe.org. Public event information is also shared on our social media channels and posted on our Events Calendar. Those interested in attending exclusive Real Renter events can sign up for the Real Rent mailing list to receive invitations and updates.

Real Rent yard signs are available at the Duwamish Longhouse and are subject to availability. Restocks are announced by email and social media channels.

In 2022, the Tribe filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior seeking federal recognition and asking the court to address what the Tribe believes were errors in the federal acknowledgment process. In January 2025, a federal judge ruled that the Department of the Interior must reconsider the Tribe's petition and review additional evidence. The court did not grant federal recognition, but it did require the federal government to take another look at the Tribe's case.

The Department of the Interior is now reconsidering the petition as directed by the court. As of now, the Duwamish Tribe is not yet federally recognized, and the legal process is still underway.

For the latest updates, we encourage you to visit the Duwamish Tribe's Lawsuit for Federal Recognition page on the Tribe's official website.

The Duwamish Tribe has maintained a relationship with the United States since 1855, when Duwamish leaders, including Chief Si’ahl (Seattle), signed the Treaty of Point Elliott. The treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1859 and established treaty obligations between the Duwamish and the United States. Federal records document continued references to and dealings with the Duwamish as a tribal entity in the years that followed.

The Duwamish began pursuing formal federal acknowledgment through the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1977. In January 2001, the BIA issued a final determination acknowledging the Duwamish as an Indian tribe under federal law. That decision was subsequently reversed by the Department of the Interior later that year, and the Duwamish have continued to challenge the denial through administrative proceedings and federal court.

In 2013, a federal court vacated the 2001 denial and sent the matter back to the Department of the Interior for reconsideration. Interior again declined to acknowledge the Duwamish in 2015. The Tribe filed another federal lawsuit in 2022 challenging the Department's refusal to recognize the Tribe and asserting that the United States has historically recognized the Duwamish and has never terminated the Tribe's treaty relationship.

FACT: The Duwamish Tribe is the only tribe to have successfully challenged and overturned a BIA decision on two separate occasions.

The Duwamish Tribe is not currently federally recognized because the U.S. government has not acknowledged the Tribe as meeting the federal criteria for continuous political and community existence required for recognition. The Tribe’s federal recognition status has been the subject of a long-running legal and administrative dispute. FACT: The Duwamish have remained a continuous tribal community in our ancestral homeland since time immemorial.

In the United States, a tribe can become federally recognized through one of three primary pathways:

1. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Administrative Process–The most common pathway. A tribe submits a petition to the BIA and demonstrates evidence of its continuous existence as a distinct tribal community and government.

2. An Act of Congress–Congress passes legislation to federally recognize a tribe.

3. The Federal Courts–A tribe challenges a federal decision or process and asks a judge to review whether the government properly applied the law. 

Yes, there are legal and political pathways for the Duwamish Tribe to obtain a reservation, but we would first need to become federally recognized.

In 1866, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs proposed a Duwamish reservation along the Black River to address deficiencies in the Point Elliott Treaty. The Duwamish reservation faced strong opposition from local settlers. A petition signed by about 156 King County residents—including prominent figures like Henry Yesler, David Denny, and David “Doc” Maynard—urged Congress’s delegate, Arthur Denny, to block the plan. They claimed the Duwamish’s needs had already been “justly and kindly protected” by settlers, and that the proposal would disrupt the “quiet and flourishing settlements” in the area. The petition was forwarded to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which withdrew the proposal, and no Duwamish reservation was created. This effectively nullified the government’s 1866 promise to set aside land for the Duwamish. That land was where much of present-day Tukwila and Renton are today.

FACT: Lack of reservation for the Duwamish people was a factor contributing to a previous denial of Federal Recognition.

You can now learn Lushootseed words and hear their pronunciations on the Duwamish Lushootseed page on our website. The page will be updated regularly. **(Coming soon!)**

There are also many excellent online resources from other Lushootseed speaking Coast Salish tribes that offer recorded pronunciations, common phrases, and other language-learning resources on their websites.

Lushootseed is the traditional language of many Coast Salish peoples in the Puget Sound region of western Washington. Historically, it was spoken by numerous tribes whose homelands extended from southern Puget Sound north to the Skagit River watershed and east into the Cascade foothills. 

Lushootseed has two primary dialects:

Northern Lushootseed – Traditionally spoken by tribes north of Seattle, including the Tulalip, Stillaguamish, Sauk-Suiattle, Swinomish, and Skagit peoples.

Southern Lushootseed – Traditionally spoken by the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Puyallup, Nisqually, and neighboring communities in the southern Puget Sound region.

The map can be viewed in the gallery at the Duwamish Longhouse. There are no prints available at this time. The map brochures are free to obtain at the Longhouse and at tabling events. The map and brochures are copyrighted by the Duwamish Tribe.

Dxʷdəwʔabš (dkhw-duh-WAH-bsh) 

Or

Dəwʔabš (duh-WAH-bsh)

It is more than okay for non-Indigenous people to have opinions about Indigenous issues—such as historical preservation, environmental restoration, recognition, etc. Meaningful allyship is important, and it begins with learning from accurate information and authentic Indigenous sources. Indigenous people carry lived experience, cultural knowledge, and ancestral connections that provide important context and perspective on issues affecting their communities.

Being an ally means standing behind Indigenous people and supporting their efforts—not speaking for them or standing in their place. Non-Indigenous people can form their own opinions based on accurate information and Indigenous perspectives, while respecting the right of Indigenous communities to speak for themselves, define their own priorities, and determine what is best for their communities.

As a non-Indigenous person, the most respectful approach is to listen, learn, and avoid taking it upon yourself to decide which Indigenous voice is the "correct" one. There is no single Indigenous viewpoint. Avoid speaking on behalf of any tribe. If you want to learn more, do so with humility, respect and allow each community to speak for themselves.

If you are asking about the relationship between the Duwamish and the Muckleshoot, it is important to understand that for us, this is about our survival as a distinct people. The Duwamish are the original, indigenous people of the Seattle area and the signatories of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. We never left our ancestral lands, and we never ceased to exist as a government, even though we were denied a reservation and federal recognition for over a century.

The tension arises because the Muckleshoot—a confederation formed on a reservation that was not our own—have increasingly positioned themselves as the sole representatives of our ancestors. You may have noticed a significant increase in their public presence, marketing, and institutional branding. From our perspective, this is not just about tribal pride; it is a strategic effort to claim our history as their own.  By aggressively marketing themselves as the "official" voice of the Duwamish people, they work to rewrite history and erase our independent existence. The truth is this: There are people with Duwamish ancestry enrolled elsewhere. That fact doesn’t make us obsolete. 

When an organization or tribe with significant resources spends heavily to tell the public that the Duwamish Tribe is "extinct" or "absorbed," they are not just making a historical claim; they are actively lobbying to keep us from the recognition and sovereignty that is rightfully ours. They want the world to believe we are a myth, or merely a group of individuals rather than a continuous, sovereign nation. For us, this is a fight for our identity. We are still here, we are still Duwamish, and we are working to ensure that our history is not bought, sold, or erased by those who seek to consolidate power through our absence.

FACT: This is our most asked question.

A good approach is to respond with facts, not confrontation. Many people simply haven't had the opportunity to learn about the Duwamish Tribe's history and may be repeating information they've heard elsewhere. If someone has questions or misconceptions, encourage them to go straight to the source by visiting the Duwamish Longhouse or visiting the Tribe's official website at www.duwamishtribe.org. Learning directly from the Tribe helps ensure they're hearing the Duwamish story in our own words. Not everyone will agree—and that's okay. The goal isn't to win an argument, but to spread accurate information and encourage understanding.

Absolutely! Every situation is different, and sometimes it simply isn't the right time or place to promote Real Rent. That's completely okay. A meaningful land acknowledgment is about recognizing the Indigenous peoples whose homelands you are on and honoring that connection.

You might invite them to learn more about Duwamish history, visit the Duwamish Longhouse, attend an event, or explore our website. Meaningful acknowledgments can inspire relationships and support that can take many different forms.

We appreciate being included in your acknowledgment and don’t encourage any other tribe or group to be left out.

Real Rent Duwamish calls on people who live and work in and near Seattle to make “rent” payments to the Duwamish Tribe. Though the city named for the Duwamish leader Chief Seattle thrives, the Tribe has yet to be justly compensated for their land, resources, and livelihood. 

You can do something today to stand in solidarity with the Duwamish Tribe as one of the first peoples of this land by paying Real Rent. See more and participate at realrentduwamish.org.

Yes. Real Rent Duwamish was developed in 2017 by the Duwamish Solidarity Group, an all-volunteer group that partners with the Duwamish Tribe. Real Rent Duwamish was endorsed by the Duwamish Tribe as a unique and powerful way for the community to offer direct and consistent financial support to the Tribe.

All “rent” paid by Real Renters goes directly to Duwamish Tribal Services, a 501(c)(3) organization, to be used in the ways that the Tribe sees fit. There are no designations or restrictions. With limited resources, Duwamish Tribal Services provides social, educational, health, and cultural services. Real Rent also helps Duwamish Tribal Services operate the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, which is a free museum as well as an event and community space.

Anyone who makes ongoing or one-time payments to Real Rent Duwamish at realrentduwamish.org is considered a Real Renter. We encourage you to join and to be part of the Real Rent movement!

The biggest benefit is getting to be part of a movement that offers direct and consistent financial support for the Duwamish Tribe. By paying Real Rent Duwamish, you’ll also receive a Real Rent email newsletter and will have access to occasional opportunities or events for Real Renters.

Over 20,000 people have participated in Real Rent Duwamish and are considered Real Renters by making a payment. More join every month.

Just as everybody’s financial situation is unique, so is the amount of rent that will feel right for you. You may choose to pay based on a percentage of your income or monthly rent or mortgage, or perhaps there is another number that holds symbolic significance for you. 

For example, paying $54 a month could serve as a powerful reminder of the 54,000 acres of homeland that became the City of Seattle that the Duwamish Tribe signed over to settlers in 1855. Or $18.55 a month could represent the unfulfilled promises made to the Duwamish Tribe in the Treaty of Point Elliott that year. ​ You can see a feed of recent payments on the Real Rent Duwamish site that represent different amounts that people are paying.