Samish Indian Nation celebrates 30th anniversary of federal rerecogition

SAMISH BAY RESORT - Thirty years after the Samish Indian Nation was federally rerecognized, members danced, sang and celebrated.

In 1969, a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs clerk left the Samish off the list of tribes recognized by the federal government, even though the tribe had been on the list in 1966.

The tribe only learned of the error in 1994.

Once the tribe realized what had happened, it and its lawyers - often working pro bono - spent 27 years working to gain rerecognition.

"We knew we were recognized," said Samish Chairman Tom Wooten. "We'd been here forever."

On Oct. 15, 1996, a U.S. District Court judge ruled in the tribe's favor.

The tribe celebrated this past weekend that rerecognition during its annual General Council Weekend, which included tribal elections, an elders luncheon and a boat ride through traditional waters.

For Wooten, the 30th anniversary of rerecognition was about acknowledging a major point in Samish history.

"It hasn't been a cakewalk," said Wooten.

"(We're) putting a pin in it. We're not closing a chapter, we're continuing to develop our story."

At the Saturday event, Samish members gathered to celebrate the occasion. About 250 people took part.

VIDEO: Samish Indian Nation federal re-recognition anniversary

Scenes from the Samish Indian Nation's 30th anniversary celebration of its federal re-recognition.

Samish cultural resource specialist Trish Breckenridge, busy between cooking frybread and shepherding members through lunch, said, "It's very great to see all these people here."

"It's very humbling," said Breckenridge of the gathering of hundreds of tribal members.

She marveled at the celebration.

"We're really not supposed to be here," said Breckenridge, referencing boarding schools and disease the tribe endured over the years. "We're supposed to be extinct."

A line of people waiting in line for lunch wrapped around the room as peopled chatted and ate.

Sitting under the tent were sisters Janet Castilleja and Chris DeKay, tribal elders who previously served on the Samish council.

"We had no money," said DeKay, remembering the time before rerecognition.

The rerecognition process was long and hard, said the sisters.

"(We were) a ragtag bunch of people trying to fight the government," said DeKay.

The council thanked past Samish leaders.

"Because of you, we stand today strong, recognized, and moving on together," the tribal council said in a statement read by Brandon Williams.

"It's a lifetime of thank-yous."

Williams called upon witnesses to the process of rerecognition to share its details.

The witnesses included Russel Barsh, a lawyer who worked on the rerecognition litigation, Chris Friday, a professor who documented the fight for rerecognition, and elder Kevin Paul.

Those who spoke remembered the recent history of the tribe and the fight for rerecognition.

The Samish canoe family sang and joined in dance to celebrate the occasion.

With rerecognition came funding for a bookkeeper, medical care and housing assistance.

"It was very, very, on-a-shoestring at first," said Castilleja.

"We hung on by the teeth and fingernails."

If there's any trait you can attribute to the Samish people, said Wooten, it's perseverance.

Members have seen an enormous growth of the tribe and its finances since that precarious time.

In 2015, the tribe became debt free for the first time since 2000.

The tribe has about 2,000 members.

At Saturday's event, those gathered barely fit into the clubhouse remodeled in 2004.

Now, most of the people who fought for rerecognition are gone, said the sisters.

"I don't think I thought we would live to see this," said Castilleja.

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