Salish Acquisition

On October 31st, 2019, the Tribe closed on a historic deal to reclaim and to cease development on our sacred lands.

The Tribe’s purchase of the Salish Lodge and sacred land alongside Snoqualmie Falls was a hard-fought victory for the Snoqualmie People.

The Snoqualmie People have spent decades fighting to protect our most sacred site from development. After decades of advocacy, this dream has been realized. The Snoqualmie Tribe is grateful and honored to be able to have made this purchase, which so perfectly aligns with our tribal values.

This purchase allows us to protect sacred Snoqualmie Falls and surrounding lands for future generations. The Falls is a world-renowned attraction, drawing an estimated 2 million visitors every year. The Snoqualmie Tribe will continue to protect for the Falls for all people, for all time.

The Snoqualmie Tribe is deeply grateful for the sacrifices made by our ancestors and elders who safeguarded our heritage and ensured that we had the economic stability to make this purchase. We are proud to continue this inherited sacred duty and share this place of cultural significance with the millions of people who visit each year and feel that special connection.

Snoqualmie Tribe Reclaims Sacred Land

The purchase of 45 acres of sacred land by the Snoqualmie Tribe means that for the first time in generations, we, as a Tribe, legally own our sacred land and have full control over what takes place there.

The purchase ensures that the site of the Tribe’s creation story, Snoqualmie Falls, will remain protected and available for future generations to witness its power and significance.

The purchase halted a planned development that would have disturbed generations of Snoqualmie ancestors in their final resting places.

Historic Purchase Marks Victory After Generations of Advocacy

Exactly one year after the City of Snoqualmie approved the development of up to 210 homes, 182-room hotel, and a convention center, on land sacred to the Snoqualmie People, the Snoqualmie Tribe became the legal owner of that land, permanently stopping the development from moving forward. The Tribe has publicly protested the development since 2012, as the planned development would have desecrated ancestral burial grounds and degraded one of the most significant cultural sites in the Pacific Northwest.

In 2015, the Snoqualmie Tribe launched the Save Snoqualmie Falls campaign, with the goal of stopping irresponsible and unjust development on sacred Snoqualmie land. The Snoqualmie Tribe has never stopped fighting to protect and reclaim land that is rightfully ours, and with this purchase we are finally able to permanently protect this sacred site from irresponsible development.

The Snoqualmie Tribe is proud to stop irresponsible development and we will continue to be the stewards of the entire Snoqualmie Falls area. Our stewardship of this land is a sacred duty we have inherited from our ancestors, and which we will pass on to future generations.

Historic Purchase Marks Victory for Indigenous Peoples

This purchase is truly unique. The Snoqualmie Tribe is proud to use our economic resources to reclaim land that holds spiritual and cultural significance.

The Snoqualmie People have cared for this area since time immemorial. Like Indigenous people around the world, we have had to watch as unjust development destroys our sacred land. Today marks the end to further destruction for at least one of those sacred sites, and a monumental success for the Snoqualmie Tribe and other Indigenous peoples around the world.

Snoqualmie Victory Adds to Momentum to Sacred Lands Advocacy

The reclamation of sacred land isn’t just a significant success for the Snoqualmie Tribe. It is emblematic of the broader movement towards a more just society for the world’s Indigenous communities. Across the world, Indigenous people are standing up to advocate for policies and actions which allow them to legally protect the land that is rightfully theirs. The Snoqualmie Tribe is honored to stand in solidarity with these movements, and share this significant victory with all Indigenous people, as we strive for justice for these sacred places.

The Snoqualmie Tribe will continue to use its resources to exercise our sovereignty and cultural values in the region and to stand beside our fellow Indigenous people across the world. Whether it’s the Sioux Tribe protecting their precious land and water at Standing Rock, native Hawiians preserving their most sacred mountain Mauna Kea, or the coalition of tribal nations standing up to threats at the Bears Ears National Monument, we are honored to be a part of inspiring Indigenous peoples.

Snoqualmie Supports Efforts to Pass Sacred Sites Legislation in Congress

We are committed to helping all native people experience the victory of reclaiming their sacred land, and we are asking our friends to join us in supporting sacred lands legislation in Congress. These sacred sites must be protected from the irresponsible development which threatens them every day, and we will continue to work toward that goal.

The Snoqualmie Tribe stands with other Indigenous people around the world in the mission to protect and preserve culturally sensitive sites with which we are one. We are not separate from the lands; what happens to our lands, happens to us. Indigenous communities have been, and will always be, the best stewards of their lands.