Browse the Blog
Browse the BlogClose
A large crowd gathers next to Northern Quest Casino for an outdoor concert. People are standing in bleachers and on the floor. Bright lights shine from the stage, and a sunset is visible in the background.

Native American Tribal Businesses Fuel Economy

Indigenous businesses in Washington together make up the eighth-largest employer in the state. Here are several options you might be interested in visiting or patronizing, whether you're traveling in Washington or ordering online.

Portrait of Lora Shinn

Lora Shinn
Contributor
Published Oct 24, 2025 in: Advancing Equity

Read time: 6 minutes

Takeaways:

  • Indigenous businesses are economic powerhouses in Washington state, creating jobs and offering a range of goods and services, including food, recreation, lodging and family fun.
  • Businesses are owned and operated by sovereign tribes and nations throughout Washington, as well as by individual tribal members.

Native American tribes and nations in Washington generate billions of dollars annually to the statewide economy, by supporting jobs and creating self-sufficient governments and budgets, according to a 2025 report (PDF).

For example, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe is one of the largest employers in South King County, supporting 3,300 direct jobs and providing hundreds of millions of dollars to the regional economy.

In Washington, 29 tribal governments oversee various business sectors, including gaming, tourism, construction and wood products.

Many of those sectors contain multiple business types under one umbrella.

"Businesses like casinos are inclusive to all people," said Bethany H., BECU mortgage advisor and co-chair and founding member of the Native Indigenous People's employee resource group. "They provide more than income from gambling. They also offer entertainment venues and fine dining experiences. These locations also provide opportunities to hold educational seminars, offer group gathering facilities and offer space for tribal communities."

She also highlighted how business and culture strengthen each other, as seen in the offerings of the Suquamish Tribe.

"Their fishing and diving businesses generate income for tribal members who become independent contractors for the tribal business and allow the community to practice traditional food gathering in today's culture," she said. "This allows for families to pass down traditional cultural activities and generations of business growth."

Travel and Stays

Overnight accommodations include deluxe resorts, lodges, spas and RV resorts. A few standouts include:

  • Salish Lodge & Spa began as an eight-room inn built in 1916 as a rest stop for travelers. Today, it's a luxurious 86-guest room lodge owned by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. Set before the global tourist attraction of Snoqualmie Falls, Salish Lodge was also the setting for the TV show Twin Peaks.
  • Quileute Oceanside Resort in La Push is run by the Quileute Nation on the Pacific coast, near the Olympic National Forest. It has no Wi-Fi or TVs, but guests can unplug and enjoy expansive ocean views right outside the windows.
  • Fidalgo Bay Resort is a waterfront RV and cottage resort run by the Samish Indian Nation on Fidalgo Island in Anacortes. Visitors enjoy views of Mount Baker, the San Juan Islands and Fidalgo Bay while hiking, kayaking, boating, crabbing and clamming.
  • Northern Quest Resort & Casino, operated by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in Spokane, offers upscale suites, cottage rentals and an RV park alongside more than a dozen restaurants and lounges, a luxe spa, a movie theater and BECU Live, a 5,000-seat outdoor entertainment venue.
Exterior view of a lodge-style building with trees and landscaped greenery in front under a clear blue sky.
Locally inspired dining and spa experiences await at the Salish Lodge. Photo by Salish Lodge & Spa.
Snoqualmie Falls with the Salish Lodge perched on a rocky cliff above the waterfall. The lodge overlooks the falls, surrounded by dense green trees, with mountains visible in the background.
Owned by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, the Salish Lodge offers a relaxing getaway with views of Snoqualmie Falls. Photo by Salish Lodge & Spa.

Entertainment and Recreation

Native American tribes and nations offer a diverse range of entertainment options, including casinos, music, golf and a water park.

Many of the area's tribal-owned casinos typically offer slot-style machines (actual slot machines aren't legal in Washington), sports betting and table games. Several locations also offer live bingo.

Visitors also enjoy live entertainment, upscale lodging with traditional art and interiors, and a variety of restaurants offering casual, buffet and fine dining options. Tribal casinos and resorts often offer a range of amenities, including spas, golf courses and more.

Popular casinos include:

Other destinations offer outdoor music, golf, an indoor waterpark and more.

Outdoor Music

If you love live outdoor music, The Muckleshoot Tribe's White River Amphitheatre is a popular outdoor music venue in Auburn. In summer, thousands gather in the shadow of Mount Rainier to enjoy live acts and festivals.

East of the Cascades, the Northen Quest Resort & Casino's BECU Live was voted the best live music venue in Spokane in the Inlander Best of 2025 reader poll.

Crowd gathered near an outdoor event entrance with banners reading ‘BECU Live’ and other sponsor logos, next to a stadium.
BECU Live at Northern Quest Casino brings exciting headliners to the Spokane community, with an unmatched outdoor venue experience.

Golf

  • The Cedars at Dungeness golf course, located in sunny Sequim, operated by Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Enterprises.
  • Kalispel Golf and Country Club, featuring views along the Little Spokane River, on the north side of Spokane, operated by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.
  • Salish Cliffs Golf Club, which features a cedar clubhouse and the world's first salmon-safe certified golf course, operated by the Squaxin Island Tribe.

Indoor Waterpark

One of Washington's most well-recognized waterparks and family destination resorts is jointly owned by the Chehalis Tribe. The Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound is Washington's only indoor waterpark, with 84-degree pools, slides and wave machines housed within an enormous wood resort.

Twilight view of a resort complex featuring a hotel building, colorful water slides and a parking area. A sign reads ‘Great Wolf Lodge’ with lights shining on it.
Located on Chehalis tribal land, Great Wolf Lodge offers year-round family fun. Courtesy photo.
A family enjoying an indoor swimming pool with a mural of a forest scene in the background. Two kids are wearing goggles.
The Great Wolf Lodge is home to Washington's only indoor waterpark. Courtesy photo.

Retail

Many tribes own and operate well-stocked roadside gas, grocery and cannabis stores across the state.

For example, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community runs several retail enterprises, including a cannabis shop and three Swinomish Markets in Anacortes and La Conner. Chehalis Tribal Enterprises operates three "End of the Trail" convenience stores, located just off I-5 between Seattle and Portland.

Closer to Seattle, Eighth Generation was founded by Louie Gong (Nooksack) and then purchased by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe in 2019. Eighth Generation works with Native artisans to produce wool blankets, home goods, jewelry and accessories, sold online and at the flagship store near Seattle's Pike Place Market.

Food and Drink

Seafood

Many Native American tribes and nations in the Pacific Northwest have a rich history of fishing and seafood harvesting. Here are a few examples of contemporary seafood businesses:

  • Swinomish Shellfish Company sells sustainably harvested oysters at its La Conner retail storefront and through wholesale nationwide shipping. The oysters are known for "exceptional flavor and quality" and are pulled from Fidalgo Island waters.
  • Suquamish Seafoods Enterprises is a business entity of the Suquamish Tribe, Port Madison Indian Reservation. It was created to provide market access to tribal fishermen and now ships nationally and internationally, featuring geoduck, Dungeness crab, Manila clams and several varieties of salmon.
  • Shoalwater Seafood, run by the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, harvests oysters from Willapa Bay and sends out monthly and bimonthly shipments.

Spirits

Until 2018, Native Americans were prohibited from distilling alcohol on tribal lands. The law was upended, and today you can visit the 37,000 square-foot Talking Cedar, where more than 10 spirits are made in the distillery. Talking Cedar also offers a brewery and restaurant within the same building, in Grand Mound.

Dining

In downtown Tacoma, Woven Seafood and Chophouse is a newer restaurant partly owned by the Puyallup Tribe, featuring the culinary craftsmanship of Roy Yamaguchi. Stop by to enjoy Aloha Powwow Hour, or items such as cedar plank salmon and miso-glazed cod.

Produce

Yakama Nation Land Enterprises harvests apples, asparagus, cherries, pears, peaches, nectarines, sweet corn and plums. The public can purchase the fruits at The Fruit Stand, located off Highway 97 in the Yakima Valley, along with the popular pickled asparagus.

Other Business

In south-central Washington, Yakama Forest Products employs an active approach to forest management, harvesting and hauling timber, and operating sawmills, producing nearly 88 million board feet of lumber and almost $11 million in wages. The tribal enterprise pairs traditional knowledge with modern forest management for approximately 650,000 acres of forest and woodlands on the Yakama Nation Reservation.

The Kalispel Tribe of Indians has a remarkable portfolio of enterprises, including those focused on storage, metal products, linen services and apartment complexes.

Owned by the Puyallup Tribe, Tacoma's Qwibil Natural Healing Clinic offers whole-person services to tribal and non-tribal members, including access to primary care and naturopathic treatments. In Aberdeen, the Quinault Tribe operates the Quinault Wellness Center, where tribal and non-tribal members can find treatment for substance use disorders.

The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized financial, tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation when making financial, legal, tax, investment, or any other business and professional decisions that affect you and/or your business.

Related Content

Protecting Elders From Fraud

An elderly couple looks out of a window, holding each other with a red blanked draped over their shoulders.

Learn about risks and what's being done to help Native and Indigenous elders.

Barriers to Indigenous Wealth

Illustration of a Native American drum.

Learn how access to financial health has been limited for Native people throughout U.S. history.

Edgar Villanueva on Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

White text on teal background: MONEY AS MEDICINE; headshot of Edgar Villanueva

The author of “Decolonizing Wealth” works for equity and community healing.
Portrait of Lora Shinn

Lora Shinn
Contributor

Lora specializes in personal finance topics for BECU, and has also written for regional and national publications such as The Balance, U.S. News and World Report, LendingTree, GoodRx, CNN Money, Bankrate, The Seattle Times, Redbook and Assurance IQ.