The reservation was authorized by the
Point Elliott Treaty of January 22, 1855, for the
Suquamish people, and was established by an executive order issued October 21, 1864. Other Coast Salish peoples, including the
Duwamish and
Sammamish, also moved to the reservation. When the land was reserved by the Point Elliott Treaty, all land was held by Tribal members and designated for their sole use. However, a series of procedures designed to accommodate non-Indigenous land acquisition created a situation where the reservation is widely interspersed with non-Tribal ownership. == Economic development ==