Quinault Indian Nation

Overview
We are among the small number of Americans who can walk the same beaches, paddle the same waters, and hunt the same lands our ancestors did centuries ago. The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) consists of the Quinault and Queets tribes and descendants of five other coastal tribes: Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz.
Our ancestors lived on a major physical and cultural dividing line. Beaches to the south are wide and sandy, while to the north, they are rugged and cliff-lined. We shared in the cultures of the people to the south as well as those to the north. Living in family groups in long houses up and down the river, we were sustained by the land and by trade with neighboring tribes. Superb salmon runs, abundant sea mammals, wildlife, and forests provided substantial material and spiritual wealth to our ancestors.
A great store of knowledge about plants and their uses helped provide for our people. The western redcedar, the “tree of life,” provided logs for canoes, bark for clothing, split boards for houses, and more.
We are the Canoe People , the people of the cedar tree. We remember our past while employing modern principles in a marriage that will bring hope and promise to our people now and in the future.
Tribal operations consists of the following areas: Administration, Natural Resources, Community Services, Health and Social Services. In addition, we have several enterprises: Quinault Pride Seafood, Land and Timber, Quinault Beach Resort, Maritime Resort, and the Mercantile, all of which promote the growth and develop the potential of our Reservation. It may take another century to correct the many problems created by the “Indian agents” we once relied upon, but we now look to the future while learning from the past.
Planning the Future
Our Reservation is more than trees and fish. It is people. People remain our most important resource and it takes educated people to fill QIN's many technical jobs. Nearly 700 people are employed by QIN and its enterprises, making it one of the largest employers in Grays Harbor County.
We have much to do and limited resources. While we live in a land of great wealth, federal government policies often impoverished our people. During the last three decades, the tribal government has taken the steps necessary to reestablish control over our own destiny and developed a strategic plan as a road map. This plan keeps all the sections of the tribal government focused and heading in the same direction.
QIN encourages individuals to develop their own businesses and also maintains many of its own enterprises, such as Quinault Pride and the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino. The only way to predict the future... is to create it. With the combined strength, courage and willingness to work together, we will build a brighter future for the Quinault People.