Swinomish Reservation

Through several recent processes through the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”), the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (“Swinomish”) have asserted that the boundary of their Reservation should be updated to reflect what they believe to be the correct historical Reservation boundary. The Swinomish assert their Reservation boundary was created by the Point Elliott treaty of 1855 and included all area east of the Swinomish Golf Course on Fidalgo Island. The requested historical boundary would include all of March’s Point, Summit Park, and property along Highway 20 East of the Golf Course. The current Reservation boundary was set by Executive Order issued by President Grant in 1873. Property owners in the area are concerned about impacts on the ownership of their property, jurisdiction, and property values.

Reference Documents

To provide additional information, the City has compiled the following documents for reference.

Final Decision by BIA

General Information

  1. Summary Handout dated March 15, 2017 (PDF) - This document was prepared for an informational meeting held by property owners in the disputed area.
  2. November 2016 summary of Swinomish proposed constitutional changes (PDF)
  3. 2014 Map of Swinomish reservation (PDF)

City Correspondence

  1. December 16, 2016 letter sent by the City to the BIA (PDF) regarding the Swinomish Fee-to-Trust application for Skagit County Parcel Number P19843
  2. January 24, 2017 letter sent by the City to the BIA (PDF) regarding the Swinomish Fee-to-Trust application for Skagit County Parcel Number P19843
  3. January 24, 2017 letter sent by the BIA to the City (PDF) providing notice of the Fee-to-Trust application submitted by the Swinomish for Skagit County Parcel Number P19843
  4. March 9, 2017 letter sent by the City to the BIA (PDF) requesting transcript of tribal consultation meeting held at the Swinomish Casino on February 23, 2017
  5. May 17, 2017 letter sent by the City to the Secretary of the Interior (PDF) regarding proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
  6. July 6, 2017 agenda for Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Constitutional Amendments Meeting with Deputy Secretary James Cason and City of Anacortes.

County Correspondence

  1. November 28, 2016 letter sent by the County to BIA (PDF) objecting to proposed Swinomish constitutional amendments.
  2. December 12, 2016 letter sent by the County to BIA (PDF) objecting to Fee-to-Trust application submitted by the Swinomish for Skagit County Parcel Number P19843

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Correspondence