The Swinomish are a Coast Salish group whose historic lands were in the Skagit and Samish River valleys as well as Whidbey, Camano, Fidalgo Islands, and the San Juan Islands. They lived in large permanent villages during the winter, then spread out in spring and summer to gather resources – salmon from the rivers, shellfish from the coastline, cedar wood and berries from inland forests. In 1855, a confederation of four major groups and their allied bands – Aboriginal Swinomish, Lower Skagit, Kikiallus, and Aboriginal Samish – signed the Treaty of Point Elliott with the United States. They ceded their land to the US while reserving rights to hunt, fish, and gather at usual and accustomed places, as well as reserving the Swinomish Reservation on southeastern Fidalgo Island for a permanent homeland. Today, most descendants of these groups live on the Swinomish Reservation.

On January 22, 1939, the tribes living at the Swinomish Reservation near La Conner, Washington, held their annual Treaty Day observance. The event marked the anniversary of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. In addition to the tribes from the Swinomish Reservation, tribal members from the Saanich and Cowichan (in British Columbia) and from the Puyallup came to the celebration. Treaty Day events included feasting, singing, drumming, and dancing. The 1939 Treaty Day was the first year that Swinomish chiefs allowed the ceremonies to be photographed. In this photo, Patrick George (seated) beats on a drum while tribal elder Joseph Joe sings.

Caption information source: "Who we are," Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, retrieved from https://swinomish-nsn.gov/who-we-are.aspx
Caption information from "Powwow recalls end of Indian war," by R.C. Cummings, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Jan. 24, 1939, page 11.