Eighth Generation is Owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe. What Does That Mean?

The Snoqualmie Falls is a sacred place to the Tribe and a popular destination for visitors to Washington.

 

Our small business is owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe, which recently displayed its values by purchasing 45 acres of their own traditional land in order to save it from development.

This makes the Eighth Generation brand unique in a couple of important ways. First, it means the direction of our business is controlled by hundreds of local Indigenous people who are proven to make decisions based on cultural values. This guarantees that our stewardship of Native artists and their communities will continue for decades into the future. Second, in a retail environment full of marketing gimmicks designed to fool consumers, it gives peace of mind to conscientious shoppers who are concerned about where their money is going and how it's being used.

The Snoqualmie Tribe knows what it takes to create and focus on a long-term vision for future generations to prosper.

The Tribe has been in the southern Salish Sea region for time immemorial. During the Termination Era (1945 - 1960) – a period in United States Indian policy which is universally condemned as being racist – the Tribe’s federal status was taken away. Through generations of exercising their sovereignty by maintaining their government structure and documentation of unbroken connection to their culture and history, the Snoqualmie Tribe was finally re-recognized by the federal government in 1999.

Today, on the 21st anniversary of their Federal Re-Recognition, the Tribe celebrates Snoqualmie Rights Day in honor of the Tribal leaders who fought and petitioned to reestablish the acknowledgement of the government’s Federal trust responsibility. Learn more about Snoqualmie Rights Day here.

 

The Eighth Generation team and some Snoqualmie Tribal Council Members pose with the Snoqualmie blanket at Snoqualmie Falls in 2019.