Norma Ann Joseph

Norma Joseph, a past chair of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, passed away on Oct. 1, 2023.

Norma, whose name Sud-tah-lo, is related to Qual-ish-kadib, her brother J. Lawence Joseph;

s.Toos-bum, her mother Katherine Joseph; sx̌əən.mlq, her father James Joseph; her grandfather, Chief Leo Brown; s.x̌iʷał, her great grandfather Chief Jim Brown; Wa-wet-kin, her great uncle; sx̌o-leab̓, her great great grandfather; Skadewa, chief of the Upper Snoqualmie; her great-great-great grandfather Kwiashten, chief of the Duwamish; her great-great-great grandfather Why-pal-kan; Wenatchi chief, her great-great-great-great grandfather.

She grew up listening to her family elders talk about the right of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe to exist; she joined in the work that started in 1969 to write a constitution for the modern Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe; she spent her years in college researching the federal records for mention of Sauk-Suiattle. She held jobs at her tribe ranging from tutor, substance abuse counselor, social service director, Lushootseed language teacher to service on the Sauk-Suiattle tribal council as chairman for a total of seven years and more than two decades as a council member.

She graduated from Whatcom Community College in 1982, from Western Washington University in 1983 with a double major in ethnic studies and political science, and from the University of Los Angeles in 1985 with one of the first master’s degrees in American Indian Studies in the country. She returned home to Sauk-Suiattle, soon after the reservation was established, she recalled how tribal sovereignty comes in many forms, including in the early days of the reservation when everyone pulled together to mow lawns and do chores. She devoted her life to documenting the culture, language and mountainous homelands of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe.

She worked at Washington State University as a Native Student Coordinator, but mostly worked for Sauk-Suiattle, spearheading cultural and Lushootseed language recovery, conducting innovative research on Sauk-Suiattle as a mountain tribe with ties on both sides of the Cascade Mountains. She built the Cultural Resource Department at Sauk-Suiattle, establishing a tribal archive, supporting the recovery Coast Salish wool and cedar weaving; and creating a regionally respected Lushootseed language education program.

She was preceded in death by her parents Katherine and James Joseph; her brother James Lawrence Joseph, her sister Eveline Joseph, her sister Josephine Strong, her brother Kenneth Joseph, her brother David Joseph. She is survived by her son Jason Joseph; her sister Christine Banks, her sister Nancy DeCoteau (Ernie DeCoteau), her sister Katherine Misanes (Ray Misanes), her brother Leroy C. Joseph. Numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.wellerfh.com for the Joseph family.