The Duwamish
In the early 2000’s, the Duwamish Tribe purchased a sliver of land near the west bank of the Duwamish River. Duwamish artifacts were found there at the river when the Port of Seattle excavated for a pier. Construction was halted and instead the riverbank area was designated as Herrings House Park which encompasses the only remaining natural shoreline on a river otherwise straightened and dredged for commercial purposes. In 2007, the tribe opened their stunning longhouse and cultural center across a 4-lane thoroughfare from that riverside park, on a small portion of a much larger area that had once been a Duwamish village of several longhouses. Today’s Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center is a place where I hear Coast Salish stories, view artifacts found across the street, and appreciate contemporary indigenous art. Longhouse events gather together tribal members from Duwamish and other Coast Salish tribes with descendants of mid-1800’s settlers, and with others from near and far. When I walk along the river’s few accessible edges or boat its polluted waters or attend a tribal ceremony, I reflect on colonization, commercial interests, contested spaces, resilience, beauty, environmental degradation, regeneration, water, hope, forgiveness, home, and the Duwamish Tribe’s refrain, “We Are Still Here.”
