Nisqually

http://www.nisqually-nsn.gov/

For 10,000 years the Nisqually Tribe lived in relative peace and prosperity in its aboriginal homeland of about 2 million acres near the present-day towns of Olympia, Tenino, and Dupont, and extending to Mount Rainier.  Tribal life changed radically with the advent of Euro-American settlement about 150 years ago.  Forced to compromise its interests and rights over the years, the Tribe has always sought to maintain its integrity and dignity.

The Nisqually people have lived in the watershed for thousands of years. According to legend, the Squalli-absch (ancestors of the modern Nisqually Indian Tribe), came north from the Great Basin, crossed the Cascade Mountain Range and erected their first village in a basin now known as Skate Creek, just outside the Nisqually River Watershed's southern boundary. Later, a major village would be located near the Mashel River.