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.”
