Ancestors of the twelve aboriginal tribes that now comprise the Colville Confederated Tribes were nomads who followed the seasons in search of food. Their territories were grouped primarily around waterways such as the Columbia River, the San Poil River, the Okanogan River, the Snake River and the Wallowa River. These people traveled throughout the Northwest into Canada and often gathered with other groups for traditional activities.

In 1872 the Colville Indian Reservation was established by Executive Order. The Colville Confederated Tribes consist of: the Colville, the Nespelem, the San Poil, the Lake, the Palus, the Wenatchi (Wenatchee), the Chelan, the Entiat, the Methow, the southern Okanogan, the Moses Columbia and the Nez Perce of Chief Joseph’s Band. The members of the 12 tribes were forced by the United States government to move onto the reservation.

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are a sovereign nation. The Colville Reservation covers an area of 1.4 million acres. It is located in North Central Washington, primarily in Okanogan and Ferry counties. It was originally twice as large as it is today, but much of the land was lost when the U.S. government opened the reservation for mining and farming to nonIndian settlers. Today the reservation consists of tribally owned lands held in federal trust status for the Confederated Tribes, land owned by individual Colville tribal members, most of which is held in federal trust status, and land owned by others, described as fee property and taxable by counties. The area is in rich natural resources including standing timber, streams, rivers, lakes, minerals, varied terrain, native plants and wildlife. Over 5,000 residents, both Colville tribal members and their families, and other non-Colville members live on the Reservation. Approximately fifty percent of the Confederated Tribes’ membership lives on or adjacent to the reservation.

The Confederated Tribes and the Colville Indian Reservation are governed by the Colville Business Council, a group of fourteen adult Colville tribal members who are elected to two-year terms in a democratic election process that is held each year in the month of June to fill seven open council positions.

On February 26, 1938, the federal government approved the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s Constitution and By-Laws and from this document, the Colville Business Council was established as the governing body of the Tribes. The Confederated Tribes’ Constitution also divided the Colville Indian Reservation into four voting districts based on aboriginal territories, known as the Omak District, the Nespelem District, the Keller District, and the Inchelium District.

The Confederated Tribes have chartered its own corporation, the Colville Tribal Enterprise Corporation (CTEC), which oversees several enterprise divisions including a gaming division and three casinos. The Corporation employs several hundred permanent and part-time employees. The work force is composed primarily of Colville tribal members and non-tribal members from the communities where the enterprises are located.