Duwamish Tribal Services

Description

Duwamish Tribal Services is the only organization providing support to the more than 550 members of the Duwamish Tribe, Seattle's First Nation, the people of "Chief Seattle" - Si`ahl.

Over 150 years ago, Si`ahl welcomed European-American immigrants to his ancestral homeland of present-day Seattle and western King County. Si`ahl and the Duwamish Tribe fed, sheltered, and protected the first European-Americans. In gratitude, the pioneers named their new settlement "Seattle" to honor the Chief and his People.

In the 1855 Point Elliott Treaty, Si`ahl and the Duwamish Tribe gave the United States Government over 54,700 acres of their ancestral homeland in exchange for the government's treaty promises - promises that have never been kept. The Duwamish Tribe has still not won federal recognition from the United States government. The tribe has been denied all of the 1855 treaty guarantees, including their fishing rights, health and human services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and their promised Duwamish Reservation, and thus have never had the opportunity for the economic investments that feed other First Nations in our region.

Beginning in 2008, the Duwamish Tribe will open and operate an art gallery, dinner theater, gift shop and event rental space within their own newly constructed Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center in West Seattle. This dynamic venture will re-establish a living Duwamish presence within the city!