Lummi
The Lummi ( ; Lummi: Xwlemi ; also known as Lhaq'temish (), or People of the Sea), governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group. They are based in the coastal area of the Pacific Northwest region of Washington state in the United States. With a historic territory ranging from the San Juan Islands to interior foothills of the Lummi River watershed, today the federally recognized tribe primarily resides on and around the Lummi Indian Reservation slightly west of Bellingham. It takes in most of the Lummi Peninsula and Portage Island, and is in western Whatcom County, south of the border with Canada. History Lummi Nation was founded by Chief Henry Kwina. The Lummi traditionally have spoken the Songish dialect of the Coast Salish languages. Their ancient villages were known as Hutatchl, Lemaltcha, Statshum and Tomwhiksen. For 12,000 years, the Lummi subsisted near the sea and in mountain areas. They returned seasonally to their longhouses situated at scattered locales, which historically were on the land included in their present reservation in today's western Whatcom County and the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Their protein-rich diet consisted principally of salmon, supplemented by