By D. PARVAZ
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Between between 1990 and 1998, 432 new housing units were built on the reservation. Development and traffic are key concerns here, and some residents mention that the place, by reservation standards, seems crowded.

Non-tribal members living on the reservation either own their property or lease it from the tribe. There's also housing on non-tribal land north of the reservation, but the only way to reach it from the I-5 is Marine Drive, which cuts through Tulalip. The tribal government has been meeting with the county to come up with new zoning plans, but progress is slow.

If you miss your chance to get a cup of coffee at the first espresso stand right off the I-5, don't panic. Amy's Espresso is just down the road by Teriyaki Grocery Store.

"Once you get to know the people out here, they're way more friendly than anyone," says Bary Gould, who along with his wife, Amy, owns the shack with two drive-through windows.

He says folks here would definitely stop and help his wife in case of an emergency.

"If she were in town, then people would, you know . . . maybe stop," says Gould, who lives on the other side of the reservation, in Stanwood. Gould says both he and his wife take part in reservation activities like the annual Salmon Festival.

For the most part, though, there's very little interaction between tribal and non-tribal residents. Those who aren't Indian don't really hang out around Tulalip. They're not at the marina or the store. There isn't a huge amount of racial animosity, but when it comes to the topic of tribal versus non-tribal homes on the reservation, there is tension.

Of the 4,458 housing units on the reservation, about 2,000 are owned and occupied by people outside the tribe.

Non-tribal people can buy land from tribe members but that's not too common. About half of the 34-square-mile reservation is considered "fee simple" land, meaning not property of the tribe. Owned by corporations and individuals, this land is bought, sold and leased through traditional real-estate transactions.