Samish Indian Nation

Samish Indian Nation, doing business as Samish Nation, is a federally recognized Indian tribe headquartered in Anacortes, Washington that acts as a federal grant recipient delivering social services, environmental stewardship, cultural preservation, and community development programs to tribal members and the broader Puget Sound region. The tribe does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles and competes exclusively in formula and project grant programs administered by federal agencies; it also receives sub-awards from state and regional intermediaries that serve as prime grant recipients.

Samish Nation operates across a portfolio of 232 federal grant awards—214 as prime recipient (92%) and 18 as sub-recipient (8%)—spanning health and human services, environmental protection, cultural resource management, library services, and infrastructure. The tribe's grant portfolio carries a combined potential value of $10 thousand against obligated dollars of $107.3 million, reflecting a mature, heavily deployed funding base that has grown incrementally over recent years. Recent prime grant work includes a $1.59 million five-year Project Grant from the Office of Head Start (CFDA 93.600) awarded April 1, 2026, for American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start and Early Head Start programming serving low-income children and families; a $600 thousand five-year Cooperative Agreement from EPA Region 10 (CFDA 66.121) effective October 1, 2025, for Puget Sound habitat restoration, biotic data collection, and stormwater pollution prevention in Fidalgo Bay and Guemes Island; and a $206,840 three-year Formula Grant from the Administration on Aging (CFDA 93.047) effective April 1, 2026, for nutrition, supportive, and caregiver services to tribal elders aged 60 and older. The tribe also holds recurring formula grants for child care and development (Office of Child Care, CCDF and CCDD programs), low-income home energy assistance (LIHEAP, CFDA 93.568), and Native American elder services under the Older Americans Act Title VI programs.

Customer concentration spans the Department of Health and Human Services and affiliated bureaus—the Administration for Children and Families and the Administration for Community Living dominate the award count (46% of total awards) and dollar concentration. The Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Department of Transportation also maintain active grant relationships with the tribe. Activity has remained steady, with 11 awards in 2022 growing to 16 in both 2023 and 2024, then declining to 6 in 2025 and 7 in 2026 year-to-date; thirteen awards reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, creating recompete opportunity across aging services, child care, home energy assistance, and environmental programs.

In its sub-recipient role, Samish Nation receives pass-through awards from state agencies and regional commissions including the Washington State Department of Commerce (victim services), the Health Care Authority (behavioral health services for American Indian and Alaska Native populations), the Superintendent of Public Instruction (child nutrition program administration), and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (Puget Sound ecosystem restoration and tribal implementation support). The tribe's capability portfolio centers on tribal governance delivery—cultural resource management through its Tribal Historic Preservation Office, library and archival services for indigenous knowledge preservation, environmental monitoring and restoration aligned with tribal treaty rights and Puget Sound Partnership commitments, early childhood education and family support, elder nutrition and caregiver services, and climate resilience planning. The tribe competes in formula-based allocation programs characteristic of tribally administered federal services, where awards flow to eligible federally recognized tribes without competitive application processes.