The Tulalip people settled onto reservation lands after signing the Point Elliott Treaty with the former Washington Territory on January 22, 1855.
In 2002 the Tulalip Tribes also exerted political power by allying with other tribes across the state and defeating a state Supreme Court candidate 'with a long track record of opposing tribal interests.' For a time he served as the only Native American in the legislature, joining Jeff Morris, an Alaskan Native (Tsimpshian) who was elected in 1996 with two other Alaskan Natives, Dino Rossi (Tlinget) and Jim Dunn (Aleut). In November 2002, John McCoy, a Tulalip leader, was elected to the Washington State legislature, retired in April 2020. Their tribes are located in the mid- Puget Sound region of Washington. They are South and Central Coast Salish peoples of indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. The Tulalip Tribes of Washington ( Lushootseed: dxʷlilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. Other Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Sauk-Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people
