Reclaiming Port Madison Indian Reservation

In the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliot, Chief Seattle agreed to cede 88,000 acres of Suquamish territory, reserving roughly 8,000 acres in the northern portion of Kitsap County for the Port Madison Indian Reservation.
By the ‘1950s, disastrous federal government assimilation and land allotment policies resulted in the sale of more than two-thirds of the reservation out of tribal ownership. To counter this loss, the Suquamish Tribe created the “Buy Back the Reservation” initiative in the ‘1960s. With help from a combination of funds, including profits from Tribally-owned businesses, the Suquamish Tribe has been able to purchase many properties back from private owners.
In 2015, the Reservation Buy Back Initiative reached a new milestone when the Tribe negotiated the purchase of a 220-acre parcel of land at the headwaters of Cowling Creek. The acquisition, coupled with properties owned by the Tribal Government and those owned by individual Tribal members, meant that the Suquamish owned more than half the properties within reservation boundaries for the first time in more than half a century. The Suquamish Tribal Government continues to make the initiative a priority and sets aside funds for purchases when available.

Image depicts an early twentieth century advertisement for cheap land for sale on the Port Madison Indian Reservation.