Puyallup Tribe of Indians
Puyallup Tribe of Indians
spuyaləpabš | |
|---|---|
Federally-recognized Indian Tribe | |
Historic Puyallup territory and modern reservation | |
| Coordinates: 47°14′38″N 122°22′15″W / 47.24389°N 122.37083°W | |
| Reservation created | 1854 |
| Reservation expanded | 1856 |
| Established | 1936 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Federally-recognized Indian Tribe |
| • Body | Tribal council (sk̓ʷapad ʔə tiiɫ siʔiʔab) |
| • Chairman | Bill Sterud |
| • Vice Chairwoman | Sylvia Miller |
| Area | |
• Total | 73,935 km2 (28,546 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Enrolled members: | 4,000 |
| • On-reservation | 2,500 |
| Demonym | Puyallup |
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians (/pjuːˈæləp/ pew-AL-əp; Twulshootseed: spuyaləpabš, lit. 'people of the bend'; commonly known as the Puyallup Tribe) is a federally-recognized tribe of Puyallup people from western Washington state, United States. The tribe is primarily located on the Puyallup Indian Reservation, although they also control off-reservation trust lands.
The Puyallup Tribe was established in 1936 after the Indian Reorganization Act, although the reservation was established in 1854 in the Treaty of Medicine Creek. Currently, the tribe has approximately 4,000 citizens. Its membership is descended from the aboriginal Puyallup peoples, as well as other non-Puyallup peoples who were moved to the reservation. Other Puyallup citizens are descendants of other tribes. The population of Puyallup citizens who reside on the reservation is 2,500, which is 3.2% of the reservation's 41,000 total population.
The tribe's government is enshrined in its constitution, and is composed of an elected government, the Puyallup Tribal Council, and the three tribal courts: the Puyallup Tribal Court, the Puyallup Tribal Court of Appeals, and the Puyallup Tribal Children's Court. The laws of the Puyallup Tribe defined the authority of the courts as separate and equal to the Tribal Council.