OUR STORY
The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation was established in 1864 at the confluence of the Chehalis and Black Rivers
The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, also known as the ‘People Of The Sands’, thrive today on Tribal lands in Southwest Washington. A vibrant community that harmonizes ancient traditions with modern economic growth, their vision is to ‘flourish as a self-sufficient sovereign people, while honoring our past and serving current and future generations.
The name Talking Cedar profoundly reflects the tribe's identity. 'Talking' evokes the rich oral history of the Chehalis people, where each generation's stories are passed down. Meanwhile, 'Cedar' pays homage to the abundant cedar trees that provide material for essential daily items and symbolize the tribe's connection to their environment.
In pursuit of greater economic security, the Chehalis People’s hoped to build a dream distillery. That dream came crashing down when they discovered a racist law from President Andrew Jackson’s 1834 administration that banned liquor production on Tribal lands to “preserve peace on the frontier.”
Unwilling to accept this, Tribal leadership lobbied their Washington State federal lawmakers, seeking a repeal. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) sponsored the House bill, which received bipartisan support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The 1834 law was overturned when the bill was signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2018. Not only were the Chehalis people able to move forward with their dream, but across the nation, Native people were free to open distilling operations on reservation lands legally.
