Although some moved to the reservation, the harsh conditions, lack of land, and oppressive policies of the United States government caused many to leave.

The Tulalip Tribes are in the process of revitalizing the language, as well as preserving and restoring other traditional cultural teachings, which are known in Lushootseed as x̌əč̓usadad.

The Southern Coast Salish branch includes all Lushootseed-speaking peoples and the Twana, extending over all of Puget Sound, except for the westernmost shore of Admiralty Inlet.

Furthermore, each subgroup was composed of several independent villages who were tied together based on shared drainage systems and a complex network of alliances between families.

The Snohomish were among the tribes that later traded with the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Nisqually, established in 1833 at the southern tip of Puget Sound.

[5]In 1855, a council was held at what is now Mukilteo, Washington (Lushootseed: bək̓ʷəɬtiwʔ) in order for then-Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens to draft a treaty that would cede the lands of the people living in the northern Puget Sound region to the United States.

During this period, the Snohomish were encouraged to remove to a temporary reservation on Whidbey Island, so as to lessen the influence of the tribes fighting the American government.

However, the treaty commission vastly underestimated the number of people who were living along the Snohomish and Stillaguamish drainage systems.

The two sections of land (1,280 acres) set apart for the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish, and Stillaguamish peoples was wholly inadequate according to anthropologist Barbara Lane, and all four tribes would never have been able to support themselves on such a reservation.

Most Snohomish did in fact relocate to the Tulalip reservation early on, however, due to the lack of land, most returned to their traditional homelands.

The northernmost border encompassed Warm Beach (dxʷtux̌ʷub), and continued easterly to Jordan and southerly to Granite Falls.

When this happens, one would traditionally host a large ceremony, often lasting several days, in which they would sing, dance, and give out gifts to friends and family.

The sgʷədilič tradition emerged in the Puget Sound region during the early historic period and a Snohomish woman claimed to be the first to get it.

Shamans, also called doctors, (dxʷdahəb), are marked by their ability to get unique spirits which can be used to heal or hurt people.

Inside the longhouse, the house posts were carved and painted by the oldest member of the family, and cattail mats were hung over the walls for insulation and storage.

It was constructed of a frame with large mats stacked on top of each other and overlapped to be waterproof to form the roof and walls.

The Snohomish took steelhead, dog, pink, sockeye, and king salmon, as well as trout, sturgeon, and flounder, on the lakes, rivers, and saltwater.

The Snohomish sold large quantities of mountain goat wool and blankets to the Indigenous peoples of Vancouver Island, in particular.

[56] Snohomish women wore their hair parted down the middle and hung lose on each side, covering the ear.

When at work or at war, men tied their hair in a bun at the top of their head, which was decorated with shell money.

Families made a complex web of alliances through marriage, which secured hunting, fishing, and gathering rights at preferable locations.

A system evolved where one chief at hibulb who led all the Snohomish villages and governed with the help of various subchiefs.

[64] Potlatches (sgʷigʷi) are large intra-tribal gatherings which have long been practiced by the Snohomish and other neighboring Coast Salish peoples.

The potlatch was the foundation of the economy prior to colonization, and today remains a very important cultural element of the Snohomish people.

Potlatches were held for many reasons, including (but not limited to) for a naming ceremony, for a funeral, after a successful hunt, for a marriage, for settlement of a debt or quarrel, or for celebrating a salmon run.

[65] Throwing an extravagant potlatch by giving away essentially all of one's possessions was highly respected and made someone widely famous.

Some remained at their villages year-round, especially the sick and elderly, but most people participated in the seasonal gathering cycle each year.

By summer, people traveled widely throughout the territory for hunting, fishing, berrying, clamming, and gathering all around the islands and the coastline of the Sound.

The winter was a time of religious ceremony as well as craftwork and building until the spring, with fishing for steelhead taking place in January.

[72] Each year, the Tulalip Tribes participate in the Tribal Canoe Journey, an intra-tribal culture event held across Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.