West Seattle, Washington
26 Saturday
(WSB photo from May 2022, drumming/singing at event announcing lawsuit)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“We look at this as a victory.”
That’s how the Duwamish Tribal Council sees a federal court ruling giving them a new start in their decades-old fight for federal recognition. We talked this afternoon with Tribal Councilmember Yvonne Griffin to get context on the new ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Jamal Whitehead.
The ruling (first reported earlier today by The Seattle Times) is related to the lawsuit the Duwamish Tribe announced with an event at their West Seattle longhouse in May 2022 (WSB coverage here). In short, it orders the federal government to reconsider the tribe’s petition for recognition, and cancels the previous denial, Griffin explains.
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs must re-evaluate the petition, and the tribe is allowed to submit new evidence. A key contention remains that the modern-day Duwamish Tribe is indeed the rightful successor to the historic Duwamish Tribe that signed the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855, despite other regional tribes including some descendants of Duwamish people. “New evidence will help us demonstrate (that),” Griffin says.
She also says it’s highly unusual for a tribe to be granted two “remand” orders – remanding their case to the department for reconsideration, which was ordered, then denied, in a previous case.
Recognition is vital because the Duwamish Tribe needs a government-to-government relationship with the federal government, Griffin says, and access to programs its members “deserve.” She adds that the fight isn’t over “treaty fishing rights” (though they are mentioned in the case, and two recognized tribes, the Muckleshoot and Tulalip, have taken the anti-recognition side) – they just want that recognition, which they briefly had a quarter century ago: This round of their fight dates back to recognition granted by the outgoing Clinton Administration at the turn of the millennium, then pulled back by the incoming Bush Administration. Another change in federal administrations could complicate things, since this case was filed against the Biden Administration, and will now require a review by the Trump Administration. Griffin says they haven’t spoke to anyone in the new federal government yet, so they’ll have to wait and see how it goes – and who does it. The court order says it must be “impartial.”
But this is only a “step in their journey” toward recognition – or, re-recognition, if you will. The ruling wasn’t “everything we asked for,” but: “We remain hopeful,” says Griffin, as they and their lawyers wait to see what happens next.
(WSB photos by Dave Gershgorn)
16 years have now passed since the Duwamish Tribe opened its Longhouse and Cultural Center in West Seattle – just a grain in the sands of the tribe’s time in this area. Nonetheless, they were reason to celebrate with an anniversary open house today. Visitors gathered in the Longhouse’s great H=gall for a welcome from the Duwamish Tribe’s elected chair of half a century, Cecile Hansen.
This year’s anniversary celebration was not on a scale with last year’s event (WSB coverage here), laden with speakers and history presentations.
But tribe members and friends also got to hear from the Longhouse’s executive director Kristina Pearson.
Also speaking, a cousin of chair Hansen, Marylin Oliver Bard, daughter of the Quinault Tribe elder, Emmett Oliver, who founded the Tribal Canoe Journeys that have stopped at Alki many years:
After years of fundraising, the tribe broke ground for the Longhouse in summer 2007, a year and a half before its grand opening. Since then, they’ve expanded their property on the west side of West Marginal Way, with adjacent lots largely being used for much-needed parking, as well as for environmental education and cultural traditions.
You can visit the Longhouse and Cultural Center (4705 W. Marginal Way SW) 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays-Sundays, or for one of its public events, usually listed on its online calendar.
Sue Shotridge from Vashon Island is one of the vendors you’ll find at the encore Native Holiday Art Market at the Duwamish Longhouse, happening today only, until 7 pm (following the traditional three-day market in late November/early December). She’s brought prints, cards, calendars, blankets, and more. Around the great hall of the Longhouse, many other Native creators are selling their work.
One booth is raising money for the Blue Heron Canoe Family‘s participation in the Journey to Elwha next year. Nearby, we found these gift packs:
If you’re hungry, you can also buy fresh-made frybread, soup, and tacos toward the back of the room. The longhouse is at 4705 W. Marginal Way SW; if you’re driving, plenty of parking on both sides of the street, and a signal to get you safely across if you park on the east side. (The Longhouse sponsored WSB this past week to help amplify word of today’s market.)
Another holiday-season tradition in West Seattle! The Duwamish Tribe Longhouse has opened its doors to Native arts and crafts creators for this year’s holiday-season Native Art Market. It’s always a mix of new and returning vendors – among the new, Wilma Gloria, of the Tulalip Tribes, with creations including hats and belts woven from cedar:
In her arms is Lovey. They’re near the great-room door, as is Ixtlixochitl Salinas (White Hawk):
Some fair participants are creating on site, including Britt Rynearson from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation:
She’s creating “kinship circles”:
There are many other vendors to browse, with creations including drums, combs, ornaments, paintings, and body care. While you’re there, also visit the exhibits for the Cultural Center and learn about Duwamish Tribe history; fry bread is for sale toward the back of the great room. The fair continues until 5 pm today and again 10 am-5 pm Saturday and Sunday at 4705 West Marginal Way SW; if you’re driving, note there’s parking on both sides of Marginal (and crossing flaggers if you end up parking on the east side of the street).
(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)
As we’ve been chronicling since the weekend, the Duwamish Tribe‘s canoe family is joining this year’s scaled-down regional Tribal Journey – but had to change plans today because of stormy weather. Instead of paddling from Suquamish and landing at Alki on the way to tonight’s Tribal Journey stop in Des Moines, the Duwamish canoe launched this afternoon from Don Armeni Boat Ramp.
Though this year’s Canoe Journey focus is on youth paddlers, the participating canoe families are bringing paddlers of all ages, with the elders serving as menors. Among those on the Duwamish canoe is one of the tribe’s longtime board members, Ken Workman, a descendant of Chief Sealth:
After tonight’s stop at Saltwater State Park (Alki was not an official stop this year, but the Duwamish were going to make a ceremonial visit), canoe families head to Tacoma tomorrow.
The Puyallup Tribe is this year’s Canoe Journey host. A different tribe hosts each year.
(Saturday photo, sent by Eddie)
That’s the Duwamish Tribe‘s Raven canoe, crossing the river by bridge instead of by water, seen as it was towed downtown for the tribe’s participation in the Seafair Torchlight Parade. Tomorrow you are invited to be at Alki Beach as the Duwamish canoe family lands while participating in this year’s scaled-down regional Canoe Journey. The Duwamish canoe will be leaving Suquamish on Monday morning, paddling to Alki for a short stop, and then continuing on to Des Moines, all participating canoe families’ official Monday night stop before finishing the journey in Tacoma. There’s no estimated time of arrival yet – from “midday” to “mid-afternoon” are the early estimates – but the tribe promises social-media updates on Monday.
9:35 AM MONDAY: The latest estimate is between 11 and 11:30 am.
10:13 AM: Another update – the weather has forced some canoes to get out of the water, so the Duwamish canoe will now be brought to Alki by trailer sometime this afternoon.
11:55 AM: New update for that – around 2 pm.
2:23 PM: They brought the canoe to Don Armeni Boat Ramp, from which they’re launching shortly, heading to Des Moines. So they’ll be paddling past Alki Beach proper. We’ll have photos in a separate story later.
Lots of planting happening this time of year, but this new planting in West Seattle is of special significance. These are camas plants, installed today in a new cedar planter outside the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse.
The Duwamish Tribe’s cultural preservation officer Nancy Sackman was joined by Sharon Leishman of the Duwamish Alive! Coalition for the planting. Camas has a cultural significance to the Duwamish people – with edible bulbs – and the planter will allow them to grow it in cleaner soil than they have access to on the Longhouse grounds.
The camas bulbs were sourced from Northwest Meadowscapes in Port Townsend; the planter, from Wabash Farms in east King County. Today’s planting was in advance of next Saturday’s Duwamish Alive! habitat-restoration volunteering; your help is needed that day, at multiple sites in the Duwamish River watershed – go here to sign up.
Among the photos on the east wall of the great gathering room at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse and Cultural Center in West Seattle, one stands out – a large portrait of the eldest daughter of Chief Si’ahl (Seattle), known as Princess Angeline, though her real name was Kikisoblu. The tribe gathers supporters each year for a tea social that is also a tribute to her, and that event filled the Longhouse today.
Titling the event the SovereignTEA was one way of reminding supporters about its ongoing fight to regain federal recognition.
There was no major update on the long-running legal battle today, but it was mentioned in some of the short speeches from Duwamish leaders. First, chair Cecile Hansen cheerily welcomed the sold-out crowd:
Duwamish Tribal Council member Paul Nelson had words of gratitude for community members continuing to support “justice for the Duwamish”:
Later, he told the story of Princess Angeline’s determination to stay in the city rather than moving out to a reservation; Seattle, the city named for her father, was the city where she lived and died. One of the chief’s descendants, Ken Workman, also spoke today:
Final words were offered by Edie Nelson, with a hope that Duwamish Tribe recognition – and true sovereignty – “will come soon.”
The Longhouse/Cultural Center hosts other public events throughout the year; next month, for example, a Spring Native Art Market is planned for the weekend of April 27-28.
(Image from December 2023 council-committee agenda, incorporating Google Maps photo)
Not including the Duwamish Tribe in a highly visible Native-art project barely a mile from their Longhouse would be a “systemic erasure,” the City Council’s Transportation Committee was told by tribal officials this morning.
The committee, chaired by District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka, was scheduled to be briefed and to possibly vote on the project at today’s meeting, three months after the previous membership of the committee tabled it at the request of Saka’s predecessor Lisa Herbold. At the start of the meeting, Saka announced that it would not be voted on today; then after the previous two (unrelated) agenda items ran long, he announced the art-project briefing would be tabled entirely, “possibly” to an unspecified later date.
Though this project has been in the planning stages for almost two years, it was not mentioned publicly until the agenda emerged for a committee meeting last December. The project is proposed to involve the Muckleshoot and Suquamish Tribes, sharing an estimated 15 West Seattle Bridge columns and $133,000 from the West Seattle Bridge repair/mitigation project. The Duwamish say the art project was never even mentioned to them (and the slide deck prepared for the meeting bears that out). At the committee briefing in December, SDOT countered by saying the Duwamish Tribe was involved with a different art project – but it turned out to involve the sidewalk close to the Longhouse, and, according to the tribe, was in the works long before this came to light.
(WSB photo, Council Chambers today)
At the start of the meeting, the public-comment period included more than half a dozen people telling the committee that the Duwamish Tribe should be included in the bridge-columns project. Here’s our video of the entire public-comment period (including several speakers talking about other agenda items); the first speaker, reading a statement from Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen, was Longhouse director Kristina Pearson:
Several of the Duwamish representatives who spoke said they’re being excluded because their tribe is not federally recognized, a status they’ve been fighting for years to regain. And to add insult to injury, said one speaker, the project excluding the Duwamish Tribe is in “an area that is culturally sensitive to” them.
Saka noted from the dais that he will be visiting the Duwamish Longhouse soon for a meeting; before adjourning, both he and the committee’s vice-chair, District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, thanked the Duwamish members for coming to City Hall. She said, “You being the original caretakers of this land, when you speak, we need to listen.”
(Side note – we will cover the rest of the meeting, which focused on the Seattle Transportation Plan and a “State of the Bridges” overview, in a separate report.)
(Image from last December’s council-committee agenda, incorporating Google Maps photo)
Three months ago, outgoing City Councilmembers shelved consideration of a plan to pay the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Suquamish Tribe $133,000 for murals on up to 15 columns under the West Seattle Bridge – a mile from the Duwamish Tribe‘s Longhouse, funded with money left over in the bridge-repair project. In response to community concerns, then-Councilmember Lisa Herbold elicited SDOT acknowledgment that there had been no outreach to the Duwamish Tribe regarding the prospective pillar art, and a Transportation Committee vote was delayed at her request. According to the agenda published this afternoon, the proposal returns this Tuesday (March 5) to the committee, now chaired by Herbold’s District 1 successor, Councilmember Rob Saka. (The committee’s previous chair, Alex Pedersen, like Herbold, chose not to run for re-election last year.) Three of the committee’s other four members are new to the council as well.
Nothing in the agenda materials for Tuesday’s meeting indicates anything has changed since the December committee meeting at which the vote was postponed. In response to concerns about not involving the Duwamish Tribe in this project, SDOT reps mentioned at the December meeting that the Duwamish would be involved in a different art project closer to the Longhouse. They had few details to offer when we followed up at the time; that project has since been revealed to involve a stretch of sidewalk. Here’s an image the tribe included in an email to its members regarding a planning event for the sidewalk project:
Tuesday’s committee meeting is at 9:30 am at City Hall; it’ll include public comment, in person and remote, and the agenda explains how to participate. Other scheduled topics include an update on the newly released Seattle Transportation Plan and a “State of the Bridges” briefing.
Story by Tracy Record
Photos/video by Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers
In light of 10,000+ years of history, the past 15 years were a blink for the Duwamish Tribe.
But it was a blink worth celebrating – and recalling – with more than 100 people filling the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center in West Seattle on Saturday to celebrate its 15th anniversary.
The lineup of speakers was impressive – from the tribe’s longtime chair Cecile Hansen, to the longhouse’s architect, whose father got him involved by suggesting he could help “Seattle’s original homeless … find a home,” to its chief fundraiser, to its exhibit curator teaching the history of longhouses, to its historian discussing life in longhouses, to a lawyer updating the tribe’s longrunning fight to regain federal recognition, and more.
The four-hour by-invitation event was also an occasion to honor those and many others who worked with and for the tribe to bring the longhouse to life on a patch of land across from a historic site on the shore of the Duwamish River, more than a century after the last of the Duwamish’s previous longhouses was torched by settlers. After years of fundraising and planning, the groundbreaking happened in 2007, and the grand opening in January 2009. And this weekend, the milestone celebration.
“I raise my hands to you,” said Chair Hansen in her brief welcome, “It’s wonderful that our tribe has succeeded to come to this date.” She invited everyone to “have a good time,” and with that, the party was on – with speakers before lunch focused on history, those after lunch focused mostly on the present and future. Our first video clip features Duwamish Tribal Services board chair Kristina Pearson, chair Hansen, and pre-construction fundraising co-chair Chad Lewis:
Lewis said the fundraising campaign dated back to philanthropists who formed the Friends of the Duwamish in the late ’90s.
(WSB photos)
All weekend long, the main hall at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse is transformed into a one-stop shop for holiday gifts during the annual holiday-season Native Art Market.
We visited this afternoon and photographed some of the artists – above, elk-skin drum maker Margie Morris; below, Coast Salish artist Peter Boome:
They’re among more than 15 vendors this year, as is Sue Shotridge from Raven’s Nest on Vashon:
You can buy food while you’re there too – we noticed more than a few marketgoers enjoying frybread. Also worth the visit, you can see the exhibits in the Cultural Center outside the hall where the market is happening, and shop the Longhouse gift shop too. The market continues Saturday and Sunday (November 25-26), 10 am-7 pm, 4705 W. Marginal Way SW. And if you haven’t been to the Longhouse in a while, note that they now have parking lots immediately north, same side of the street.
As noted here Saturday, the Rotary Club of West Seattle has now placed five Peace Poles around West Seattle, part of a worldwide initiative. But the story behind the one dedicated Sunday at Our Lady of Guadalupe goes beyond the poles’ inscription, “Let Peace Prevail on Earth.” This one is part of an installation meant as a reminder of those whose land it’s on:
That plaque honoring the Duwamish Tribe is on a bench made by Eagle Scout Nick Krum:
He explained the project to those gathered for the dedication:
The space with the pole and benches is in front of the church on 35th SW south of SW Myrtle.
Today is the first of three days for a West Seattle holiday-shopping tradition – the Native Art Market at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse (4705 West Marginal Way SW). The art you’ll find there represents many tribes/nations – one of the art businesses there is Igmútȟaŋka Iháŋble (Lakota for Mountain Lion Dreams):
Neecee’s Ancestral Art is by Denise Emerson, Navajo and Skokomish:
The market continues until 5 pm today, and is open 10 am-5 pm Saturday and Sunday. If you’re driving, note that the Longhouse has increased parking options, plus a traffic signal to get safely across West Marginal if you park on the east side.
We’ve reported before on The Heron’s Nest, land between Puget Park and West Marginal Way SW that’s in the process of being restored and repatriated to the Duwamish Tribe. The nonprofit that’s been working on this is inviting you to a benefit celebration at the site this Saturday night – when the weather should be perfect for an outdoor event:
Saturday, October 8th: Fundraiser & Auction:
4-9 pm – Join us at The Heron’s Nest (4818 Puget Way SW)
Welcoming to the space by Ken Workman of Duwamish Tribal Council
Silent Auction, Raffle Prizes, Coast Salish Stories by Pamela Bond, Documentary Trailer Screening (Road to Recognition), Live performances, Dinner, Drinks, and more!$50 tickets include two meal tickets, two 21+ drink tickets, two raffle tickets
Tickets are available online here.
(WSB photos. Drumming/singing at today’s event. At left, an image of Kikisoblu, Chief Sealth’s daughter)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
With this city named after its legendary leader, and home to a river bearing its name, the Duwamish Tribe says its lack of federal recognition makes no sense.
So the tribe is going to court, with a lawsuit launching a new chapter in the fight for recognition, which it says the federal government owes them as lead signatory to the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. The lawsuit – which you can read here – was announced during an hour-and-a-half midday event at the tribe’s Longhouse in West Seattle.
The event, attended by members and supporters via livestream as well as in person, featured Duwamish Tribe leaders as well as its lawyers, most of whom are with K&L Gates. The speeches, taken together, provided a history lesson as well as a briefing on the lawsuit itself (which also is laden with history). Here’s how it unfolded:
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
ROAD-RAGE GUNFIRE: SPD provided this brief summary tonight of an incident just before 9:30 this morning:
The victim and suspect were driving on the 1st Ave. S. Bridge when a road-rage incident occurred. The suspect followed the victim and drove in front of him. The suspect got out of his vehicle and made threats to kill the victim. The victim drove away, and while driving in the area of W Marginal Way SW/Highland Park Way SW, the suspect shot at the victim. The round struck the victim’s passenger-side door. The suspect fled SB on Highway 509.
As is usual for brief initial summaries, no descriptions were included.
STOLEN CAR: Reported by Carolyn:
Hyundai Elantra Silver 4-Door, License BKG 4627
Stolen yesterday, 1/27/22, from parking garage at Arrowhead Gardens Senior Living Apartments at 9230 2nd Avenue SW (near the Fire department training center off Olson Place SW and Myers Way South).
Additional identifying marks: Pink license-plate holder and reddish-brown Arrowhead Gardens parking sticker on rear window.
If seen, contact Carolyn – text location of vehicle to 206-965-5051
But first call 911.
TRIBE’S CANOPY TAKEN: Reported tonight by the Duwamish Tribe, via Twitter:
This canopy was stolen during a break in of our storage shed yesterday among other things. pic.twitter.com/bzFqhbSa0P
— @duwamish_Tribe (@Duwamish_Tribe) January 29, 2022
The Duwamish Longhouse is at 4705 W. Marginal Way SW. We’re checking with them to seek more information on what happened and what else. was taken.
for this weekend’s Native Art Market and Holiday Gift Fair at the Duwamish Longhouse, crossing guards are still stopping traffic on West Marginal Way, because the newly installed signal isn’t ready yet. Earlier this month, SDOT told the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force that they expected to turn on the signal in “late November,” if weather permitted the crosswalk to be painted. Turns out the weather got in the way of a different aspect of the project. We followed up on the signal statuw before the holiday and got this explanation:
Seattle Department of Transportation crews completed all of the initial work to install traffic signal poles and equipment in early November. The next step is for Seattle City Light to hook up power to the traffic signal so that we can turn it on. Due to the series of severe storms leading to widespread power outages, Seattle City Light has had to reschedule this step for the first weekend in December. Once the power is connected, SDOT crews are ready to take the final steps to unveil the signal lights and paint the crosswalks, which will require dry weather. We intentionally wait to do this until the signal is ready to be turned on in order to avoid confusing travelers.
This signal is technically temporary, with a permanent one to follow.
At the Duwamish Longhouse Native Art Market and Holiday Gift Fair, you can find ornaments to decorate your tree, and/or gifts to put under it.
The work above is by Seciwa’s Southwest Native Jewelry and Crafts, one of this year’s vendors, spotlighting “the people and crafts from the Pueblo of Zuni,” described in a flyer as “the largest of the 20 ‘Pueblo’ tribes in New Mexico and Arizona.” The gift fair is a place to learn as well as to browse and buy.
It was also a popular shopping stop while we were there in late morning, with a line to get in since capacity was capped. But you have plenty of time – until 5 pm today, and again 10 am-5 pm tomorrow and Sunday.
Parking is across the street in the Seattle Public Utilities lot – and there are crossing guards to stop West Marginal Way traffic so you can safely get across. (The temporary signal and crosswalk are not ready yet – more on that in a separate story later.) P.S. You can also visit the exhibits in the Longhouse Cultural Center while you’re there, and the gift shop is open,
(WSB photo from September – Amanda Lee at The Heron’s Nest)
Two months ago, we reported on The Heron’s Nest, a site in the West Duwamish Greenbelt where volunteers have been working on a plan to purchase a site for environmental education and repatriate it to the Duwamish Tribe, whose Longhouse is nearby. At last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, Amanda Lee from The Heron’s Nest gave an update and announced the project had received a city grant of nearly a million dollars. We followed up with Lee this morning and received the announcement they’re making:
The Shared Spaces Foundation is excited to announce a major milestone in its efforts to fundraise for the Heron’s Nest, a project aimed at preserving 3.56 acres of land in the West Duwamish Greenbelt for community use, stewardship, sustainable education, and repatriating it to the Duwamish people. On October 5th, the City of Seattle issued a $900,000 grant from its Strategic Investment Fund to the Shared Spaces Foundation. These funds will allow Shared Spaces to purchase the land currently used for the Heron’s Nest, serving as the first step in the repatriation process.
The Duwamish people have resided in present-day Seattle and King County since time immemorial. Where they once inhabited 50 villages in the Puget Sound area, they now own less than an acre of land and have been unfairly stripped of their federal recognition. Preserving this land will increase the footprint of land access by 5x for Duwamish Tribal Services.
The Shared Spaces Foundation currently leases the 3.56-acre parcel just a short walk from the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center in West Seattle. This undeveloped parcel was, until recently, destined to become the site for a new housing complex. Now, with the help of the SIF grant, the Shared Spaces Foundation will be able to preserve the land from destructive development and allow the Heron’s Nest project to continue the steps they have already taken to restore its indigenous vegetation and ecology, improve its productive uses, and provide for public access and education. Over 5,000 hours of community volunteering has been put into the restoration and construction efforts since the Heron’s Nest founding at the beginning of 2020.
In time, the Heron’s Nest will include the development of sustainable, community-accessible facilities including campgrounds, an outdoor kitchen, outdoor classrooms, tool libraries, an urban farm and agroforest, a recycling center, and a natural aquaculture pool. Once restored and with the above amenities in place, the land will be given back to the Duwamish people and be used for community benefit.
However, the Shared Spaces Foundation must continue its fundraising efforts in order to bring the full project to fruition. The entirety of the SIF grant will be applied toward the purchase of the land. To fund the remaining services and facilities, Shared Spaces is driving a community-giving effort. Shared Spaces looks to raise another $500,000 for materials, staffing, and operational costs, and have set a target deadline for the end of 2021. A successful fundraising campaign this Winter will allow for many of the facilities to be operational by Spring 2022.
In addition to further grant funding, the fundraising efforts include an upcoming holiday market at the Heron’s Nest, a recent dinner and auction held on October 16th, and utilizing the space for community events, nature viewing parties, and workshops. To learn more about the vision for the land and the scope of the project, visit: www.TheHeronsNest.org
Lee says the holiday market is scheduled for December 11th – more on that when it gets closer.
(WSB file photo)
The Duwqmish Tribe Longhouse and Cultural Center (4705 W. Marginal Way) is usually open Tuesdays-Saturdays, but not this week. The longhouse is closed “to get ready for the Native Art Market and Holiday Gift Fair,” which as usual is set for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after Thanksgiving (November 26-28). The Longhouse plans to reopen at 10 am Tuesday, November 16th. If you’re doing early shopping, the announcement includes a reminder that you can shop with them online any time – art, apparel, books, toys, more – by going here.
(WSB photos. Above, Amanda Lee at The Heron’s Nest)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Off Puget Way – one of the few streets that connect to busier-than-ever West Marginal Way – a parcel of land is in the process of healing from decades of serving as a dumping ground.
A group of passionate volunteers are working not only to heal the land, but to use it to help heal injustices done to the area’s First People.
That sign is one of the reasons why what’s happening at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse in West Seattle through Monday is the Labor Day Acknowledgment Art Market – you’re offered not only a chance to shop Indigenous art and craft items, but also to learn about and support the tribe’s ongoing fight for federal recognition (acknowledgment). Yard signs, brochures, and other information about supporting the tribe are all under the canopy by the entrance. Inside, new T-shirts have arrived at the gift shop:
(If you can’t read it, beneath Seattle it says “Occupied Duwamish Territory.”) Beyond the gift shop and Cultural Center displays inside the longhouse, you can shop the Native Art Market:
Vendors include Singing Pots and Love Warrior Medicinals:
And Native Knits:
There’s plenty of parking (and if you park across the street, there are crossing guards to stop traffic) – here’s a map. The market continues until 5 pm today, and again 10 am-5 pm Sunday and Monday, at 4705 W. Marginal Way SW.
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