The Sequalitchew Creek band of the Nisqually Tribe lived at the mouth of the Sequalitchew Creek in a small sheltered cove. The name “Sequalitchew” has been interpreted to mean “extensive sand banks over which the water is shallow” and also as “big tide” or “long run out tide”, because the sand was exposed for a great distance at low tide.

The small band of 5 or 6 families numbering about 50 but no more than 100 people lived in two cedar long houses, positioned on the narrow shelf alongside the creek in a permanent village. The homes would have been sheltered by the high bluffs on either side of the ravine through which the creek flowed down to the “Whulge”, as the Native people called the Puget Sound.

The band would take a summer lodge made of poles covered with cattail and rush mats to the summer berry fields.

The remainder of the year the people stayed close to several food sources of seafood, salmon and shellfish from Puget Sound. Berries, roots, nuts and fresh meat could be found in the prairies and woodlands on the high bluffs behind the village. One of the most popular foods was the camas, a root plant in which the bulb was eaten. The camas plant grew on the prairies. The prairies were burned in the fall of the year, which promoted the growth of tender grasses. The grasslands attracted wild grazing animals such as deer and elk, and made hunting much easier and close to home. The burning did not affect the camas or the large Garry Oaks on the plains, but did kill the young firs encroaching into the grasslands.

The Nisqually were the only horse people on Puget Sound. The Nisqually had horses prior to the arrival of the Hudson Bay men. The horses were acquired through trade from eastern and southern Washington.