Tribal Resources

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

For the “western science” community, this concept (among others) is of critical importance as it represents generations of knowledge passed along through a variety of cultural sharing ways (e.g., stories, songs, etc.). Many federal and state organizations have begun to incorporate TEK into research and education, instead of solely relying upon scientific methodologies, as these two ideologies are often complimentary.

Each Tribe is Sovereign

It is important to point out that members of tribes, first nations, and other indigenous communities throughout North America are each members of sovereign, unique, self-governed communities. In the news, for example, one might hear about “the tribes” being involved in some sort of state or federal policy issue (e.g., something related to fisheries, etc.). This can lead to the incorrect view of all tribes and tribal members as being one and the same. In reality, individual tribes may be at odds with one another, just as much as any other group or organization might be. Each tribe is unique with their own set of stories, history, and culture.

Regional Resources

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

  • Natural resources management support service organization for 20 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington (https://nwifc.org)

Affiliated Tribes of NW Indians

  • Nonprofit organization representing 57 northwest tribal governments from Oregon, Idaho, Washington, southeast Alaska, Northern California and Western Montana (https://atnitribes.org)
  • ATNI not only deals with natural resources issues, but also policy and energy issues. They do have a regional tribal climate resilience liaison who works with UW and USGS: Chas Jones (cejones@usgs.gov)

Washington State Governor’s Office Tribal Directory

  • Directory for federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in WA state (https://goia.wa.gov/tribal-directory)
  • Also contains tribal contact information, a list of tribal newspapers, colleges, courts, museums, tribal organizations, and more

Tribal Resources

Tribes in the Bellingham area

Tribes in the Anacortes/Skagit Area

Tribes in the Olympic Peninsula

Tribes in the Kitsap Peninsula

Tribes in the Everett Area

Tribes in the Seattle Area

College & University Resources

Western Washington University Tribal Relations

Northwest Indian College

  • Accredited tribal college serving Washington, Oregon, and Idaho (https://www.nwic.edu/)
  • Main campus is located on the Lummi Indian Reservation near Bellingham

University of Washington Native Life and Tribal Relations