Tradition flows through S’Klallam Tribe NWMC to collaborate with Jamestown S’Klallams The S’Klallam village site, or qatáy, where Port Townsend now sits, was one of 30 named S’Klallam villages on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Port Townsend Bay and the Kitsap Peninsula. Villagers harvested seasonal resources with a specific understanding of taxonomy, estuary and stream biology, sea life and the rhythms of the natural world, observed during more than 10,000 years of continuous occupation. The 1977 discovery of the Manis mastodon offered definitive evidence that humans hunted on the Olympic Peninsula as long ago as 14,000 years ago. S’Klallams maintained the prairies, burning them back each year, to create habitat for edible plants such as camas, and new grass to feed the deer and elk they hunted. Their culture relied heavily on the red cedar tree, which provided wood for shelter and huge cargo canoes as well as split bark fibers that were woven for clothing, blankets and sails. A remnant of a camas field today exists and is protected at the city-owned Port Townsend Golf Course. In the 19th century, nonIndian settlers arrived in the area, desiring S’Klallam lands. In 1855, the S’Klallams and
other Puget Sound tribes signed a treaty with the federal government that stated they would always be able to hunt, fish and gather in their “usual and accustomed” grounds. Without treaty enforcement, settlers forced S’Klallams from their traditional lands in Port Townsend and Sequim. Both groups relocated together near Dungeness. The S’Klallam people looked for ways to preserve their lifestyle, identity and cultural ways. In 1874, under the leadership of Lord James Balch, the S’Klallam people living in the Dungeness area decided that, to survive, they must adopt a new value system that included property ownership. They pooled $500 in gold coins to purchase 210 acres along the strait, now called Jamestown. Many joined the local workforce as farmers and dairymen. Others continued to practice their traditional hunting and fishing, using these goods for trade with the local settlers. From the 1850s through the 1960s, the S’Klallams withstood racism by local residents, who often treated the darkest-skinned among them as second-class citizens. They also weathered political struggles with the federal,
The site that became Port Townsend was once home to a S’Klallam village, according to this map of traditional S’Klallam villages along the North Olympic Peninsula. Map by Dale Faulstich; courtesy of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Archives
state and local governments, which at times recognized them as a sovereign people (as promised in the Treaty of Point No Point), but more often did not – instead choosing to refuse them any treaty rights. Still, the S’Klallam people raised families, worshipped, contributed to the local economy and sent their children to schools in Sequim.
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s canoe Laxaynem, being carried onto the beach at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend during a canoe journey. Courtesy of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Archives 10 • 2012 Wooden Boat FestivaL
In the 1970s, the Jamestown S’Klallam people joined with tribes across the nation in a movement to gain justice for those whose treaty rights had been ignored for more than a century by the federal government. Through a long legal process, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe was “re-recognized” by the United States government on Feb. 10, 1981, confirming the Tribe’s rights as a sovereign nation. As it formed a government (similar to any local, state or federal government), it became eligible for funds and expertise to build economic security for its people and to protect traditional resources. Under the leadership of W. Ron Allen, tribal chair since 1977, the many S’Klallam leaders who have worked on the tribal council, tribal committees and tribal staff, the Tribe has become a highly collaborative, well-respected partner in economic development, health care, natural resources, cultural preservation and the arts. The Tribe is now the secondlargest employer in Clallam County, with diverse businesses, including 7 Cedars Casino, built in the style of a traditional longhouse at Blyn, at the head
On the Web Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe jamestowntribe.org of Sequim Bay along U.S. Highway 101. It features the region’s largest collection of Northwest coast totemic art. Among its other businesses, the Tribe offers both a medical and a dental clinic, open to the public. The Tribe supports dozens of cultural and community causes. In Jefferson County, these include preservation of Tamanowas Rock, a sacred S’Klallam place, and the Northwest Maritime Center, which promotes an understanding and love of wooden boats, including traditional red cedar canoes. While there are no concrete plans at press time, ongoing conversations between the Tribe and the Northwest Maritime Center are exploring potential programmatic collaborations to better include Native maritime traditions into the experiences available at NWMC, including the opportunity to engage the public in traditional canoe construction.
Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader