The Confederated Tribes
of the Chehalis Reservation

The Chehalis Tribe's reservation lands are situated approximately 26 miles southwest of Olympia and 6 miles northwest of Centralia. Thurston and Grays Harbor Counties bisect the reservation’s 4,216-plus acres. Oakville is adjacent to the northwest corner of the reservation.

A rainbow sheds light over the south fork of the Chehalis River, where the Upper and Lower Chehalis people fished for centuries.

Tribal History

The Chehalis people historically occupied a large area within the Chehalis River Watershed stretching from the foothills of the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in Southwest Washington. The Tribe has been located on the reservation within the Chehalis watershed since the 1850’s. Important archeological sites are scattered throughout the Tribe’s aboriginal area. “Chehalis” is a collective name for several Salish tribes that originally lived in the area.

Tribal Administrative Structure

The Chehalis tribal governing body is the General Council, comprised of all enrolled members 18 years-of-age and older. The Council generally meets twice annually but may also convene special meetings. The Business Committee, a five-member body elected to office by the General Council for two-year terms, oversees tribal administration and business. The Business Committee is composed of the Tribal Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Fifth Council Member.

Tribal administrative functions are overseen by a General Manager who works directly under, and receives policy direction from, the Business Committee. The General manager oversees tribal operations and services through a departmental structure. The Tribe’s organizational structure and management systems provide for separation of policy-making and management funds, and also for clear lines of authority within the organization.

Expansion and Development

The 69-room Eagles Landing Hotel opened Fourth of July weekend, 2005. The $6.5-$7 million hotel offers both rooms and suites, a heated indoor pool, a sauna, an exercise area, and a covered sky bridge to the Casino.

The resort-quality Eagles Landing Hotel opened the weekend of July 4, 2005, and immediately began to receive many, many bookings!

Other projects that began in 2005 included both a major renovation and the expansion of The Chehalis Tribal Center and the Chehalis Public Safety Building. The Public Safety Building was a partnership between the Chehalis Tribe and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, with USDA providing 60% of the funding, the Tribe 40%.

Saxas, one of the Tribe’s two construction companies, was involved in building the 10,550 square foot facility. This $23 million project houses tribal law enforcement (including booking and a detoxification center), the jail, and the tribal courts.

In 2006 the Chehalis Tribe is well underway toward completing a two-story, 20,000-square foot facility to house the the behavioral health services and medical/dental clinics. The new clinic will share a waste water system with the public safety facility. As always, the Chehalis Tribe has other plans in the developmental stage.

Chehalis has not yet posted an official web site. When an official site is posted a link will be created from this site to the Chehalis web site. Thanks.

Information provided from the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, Fact Sheet, August 2002.