The Snohomish are a Lushootseed Native American tribe who reside around the Puget Sound area of Washington, north of Seattle. They speak the Lushootseed language. The tribal spelling of their name is Sdoh-doh-hohbsh, which means "lowland people" according to the last chief of the Snohomish tribe, Chief William Shelton. Some commentators believe a more accurate spelling in the Latin alphabet would be Sdohobich, as their language has no nasal consonants. Historians have debated the meaning of the name. Some believe it means "a style of union among those of the brave", while others interpret it as "Sleeping Waters." Other possible meanings include "many people" and even "a warrior tribe." Sometimes known as The Lowland People, the Snohomish have also been referred to as the Sinahomish (or Sneomuses). History Fishermen, hunters, and gatherers, the Snohomish formerly lived near the mouth of the Snohomish River, a Puget Sound tributary north of modern-day Everett, on the southern tip of Camano Island, on southern Whidbey Island and along the Snohomish River as far east as modern-day Monroe. Among the Snohomish subdivisions in those locations, there were the Sdohobcs of the lower Snohomish River and Whidbey Island and the Sdocohobcs on the Snohomish River between Snohomish and Monroe. Other subdivisions were the N'Quentlamamishes (or Kwehtlamamishes) of the Pilchuck River. Today the river, the city, and a county all bear their name. In 1844, the Snohomish had 322 known members. A decade later, their population was 350, as they were potentially less affected by a smallpox plague of the time that had killed significant numbers of Native Americans in the Puget Sound area. In the 1980 census, there were 700 Snohomish, but by 2008 people identifying as Snohomish had increased to 1,200. When the Snohomish encountered Hudson's Bay Company trader John Work in December 1824, they feared his party had come to attack them. They had long been in conflict with other tribes, such as the Klallams of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Cowichans of southeastern Vancouver Island. Once they realized the traders were friendly, a Snohomish warrior demonstrated how to kill the Cowichans, if they attacked. The Snohomish were among the tribes that traded with the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Nisqually, established in 1833 at the southern tip of Puget Sound. They also met Roman Catholic missionaries who entered their lands in the early 1840s. At the time of these contacts,