Nooksack Tribe

The Nooksack Indian Health Department is committed to providing the highest quality services, which are supported by a qualified medical staff. They strive for continuous improvement, with the goal and intention of raising the standards of health care within the Nooksack Tribal membership. Located in Everson, Wash., Tribal Clinic provides a range of medical and health care services.

An ambulatory health care center that serves members of the Nooksack Indian Tribe and the Tribal Member community. Also offered are community health prevention and education services to the patients to ensure they receive health care to the fullest extent including, Medical, Dental, Community Health/Health Nursing, Mental Health Counseling, Chemical Dependency Counseling, Chemical Dependency Prevention and Contract Health Services.

Primary health care services are provided in the 5,000 SF tribally owned clinic. The program is operated under a P.L. 93-638, Title I contract with the Indian Health Service. The Nooksack Tribe contracts under the 413 amendments of P.L. 93-638 for its area and headquarters shares. Programs include primary care, alcohol counseling, mental health services, public health nursing, nutrition, CHR and dental care. The clinic staff includes a nurse practitioner, licensed practical nurse, three community health representatives, a alcohol counselor and part time mental health counselor/social worker. Dental services are provided by a joint venture with SeaMar (a private provider). Nooksack provides dental chairs, a 750 SF facility and SeaMar provides a dentist. WIC services are provided by the Tribe. Patients who have no other medical coverage continue to travel to the Lummi Tribal Health Center for direct care services that are not provided at the Nooksack Clinic. The Nooksack Tribe is part of the Northwest Washington Service Unit Health Board (NWSUHB) that also includes Lummi, Upper Skagit and Swinomish. The NWSUHB is a non-profit organization established in the early 1980’s. The Health Board contracts for sanitation services under a P.L. 93-638, Title I consortium agreement. A full-time position is funded and the sanitarian provides services one day a week at Nooksack. Services include supervision of contaminated waste handling, food handling permits, health inspections of tribal facilities, water quality and sewage management, vector control and solid waste disposal, among other duties as assigned by the Tribal Health Department. The Tribe’s Contract Health Service Delivery Area (CHSDA) is Whatcom County. The enrolled population is approximately 1,341 and the Indian population on or near the reservation is 740. The active user population is approximately 4200. The leading causes of death are heart disease, malignant neoplasm, cerebrovascular disease, motor vehicle accident, and digestive diseases.

The Medical Clinic Community Health and Community Nurse Services programs purpose is to provide direct prevention, wellness and outreach services to the patient population providing comprehensive preventative and health support services including Diabetes screening and testing, Diabetes education and management, nutrition and lifestyle counseling, home health visits, health education, elders and veterans outreach, medical visit transportation and medicine pick up and delivery.

The Dental Program provides quality dental care. The purpose of the Dental Clinic is to provide comprehensive dentistry care to include General Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry, Specialized Dental Care Referral and Oral Health Prevention Education.

Contract Health Care Services provides specialized health care services that are not provided at the Nooksack Medical Clinic. The need for CHS services must be determined by an on-site primary care provider and is provided dependent upon the availability of CHS funds and relative medical priority. The CHS funds are to be used only after it has been established that the individual applicant is eligible for CHS benefits and no other resources are available to the person requiring CHS services.

The Nooksack (/ˈnʊksæk/; Nooksack: Noxwsʼáʔaq) are a federally recognized Native American people in northwestern Washington state in the United States.
Historically, the Nooksack people relied on fishing, hunting, clam digging, root gathering and trading with neighboring village peoples for their subsistence. Wealth and prestige within the Coast Salish system were closely allied with the expansion of a family’s network of kinship, trading and ceremonial ties. In the spring and summer the village groups would split up to fish, hunt, dig clams, gather roots and herbs and to trade with neighboring village peoples. In 1873 an effort was made to remove the Nooksacks to the Lummi Reservation. However, the Nooksacks returned to their upriver sites as they were not closely related by linguistic or kinship ties to the Lummi. In the mid-1930s the Nooksack tribe voted to accept the Wheeler-Howard Act and began working on a tribal constitution. Since they lacked a tribal land base they were not given Federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1971 the Nooksack Tribe received full federal recognition and reservation status was established on one acre of land in Deming, WA. Since that time, the Tribe’s land holdings have increased to 2,500 acres including 65 acres of tribally owned trust land.

The Nooksack are a Tribe of approximately 2,000 members, located in the ancestral homeland in the northwest corner of Washington State.

The Tribe is located in Deming, Washington, just 15 miles east of Bellingham, 12 miles south of the Canadian Border, nestled amongst majestic mountains, lush forest, and the meandering and dynamic Nooksack River.

The Nooksack language was predominant in much of the upper Fraser River Valley in British Columbia. Their language (Lhéchalosem) belonged to the Coast Salishan family of Native American but became extinct around 1988. In the 1970s the Salishan linguist Brent Galloway worked closely with the last remaining fluent speaker. He worked toward creating a dictionary of their language but it’s unclear if that work was published before his death. His 2009 book Dictionary of Upriver Halkomelem covers a language that was in the same region but distinct from that spoken by the Nooksack people.

The Tribe currently owns two casinos, a convenience store and an automotive shop. The Tribal Council is working to create financial stability for their 2 casinos, and

they have recognized that the convenience store has outgrown its space. They plan to enhance the financial stability of businesses and the Tribe.

Principal industries: Food processing, wood products, petroleum refining, manufacturing, agriculture.

The Tribe has more than 1,800 enrolled members. As of the 2000 census, the Nooksack Indian Reservation, at 48°53′03″N 122°20′54″W in Whatcom County, had a resident population of 547 persons living on 2,720 acres of land. Of these residents, 373 persons, or 68.2 percent, identified as being solely of Native American ancestry.

City: Deming (unincorporated) includes a 1-acre reservation. County: Whatcom, population 117,200, Native American 4,034, 50% of nonwhite or 3% of total population. 2,126 square miles. County extends inland from Strait of Georgia along Canadian Border to Cascades. County’s assessed value averages $3,132 an acre. Rainfall (Bellingham) 35.1 inches. Average temperatures 41-58.

Tribal website: http://www.nooksacktribe.org/
Administration Phone: (360) 592-5176
Clinic website: http://www.nooksacktribe.org/departments/health/
Clinic Phone: (360) 966-2106

Nooksack Tribe
Nooksack Community Health Center
2510 Sulwhanon Dr.
Everson, WA 98247
Mailing Address:
PO Box 157
Demming WA 98244
Phone: (360) 966-2106
Fax: (360) 966-7227
Website: http://www.nooksacktribe.org/
The clinic is open Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm and closed for lunch from 12:00PM to 1:00pm.
Walk-ins are from 9:00AM to 9:45AM and 1:00PM to 1:45PM on a daily basis.
The clinic is closed on all recognized holidays.
Dental Clinic:
Phone Number: (360) 306-5151
Alt. Phone: 360-966-2106
Fax: 360-306-5191
Behavioral Health Program:
Phone Number: (360) 966-2376
Alcohol and Chemical Dependency Program
Phone Number: (360) 966-7704

Nooksack Tribe

Member Tribes