In 1913, landless tribes in Puget Sound form the Northwest Federation of American Indians to resolve their status as tribes and to assert their treaty rights. Thomas G. Bishop (d. 1923) of the Snohomish tribe is the first leader.
After the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855, tribes such as the Duwamish, Samish, Snoqualmie, and Snohomish did not remove to the assigned reservations. They continued to reside along the shore, lakes, and rivers and preserved their tribal identities, but the U. S. government declined to recognize them. During the 1950s, the landless tribes of the Federation joined forces with landed tribes in the Inter-Tribal Council of Western Washington.
Sources:
Cesare Marino, "History of Western Washington Since 1846," Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 7, Northwest Coast, (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1990), 169-179.
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