The Duwamish Tribe have lived, fished, hunted, and farmed their ancestral lands and waters for thousands of years prior to the arrival of European and American whites. We continue to do so today, and lead activities related to the reclamation, remediation, and stewardship in support of environmental justice for the lands that comprise Seattle and the adjacent watersheds flowing into Puget Sound. For many decades, the tribe has contributed to the environmental health and welfare to the benefit of the citizens of Seattle with an emphasis on underserved, marginalized populations within. The examples of environmental stewardship cited below, illustrates the tribe is a recipient of city, county, state, federal (Environmental Protection Agency) non-profit organizations, and university grants that acknowledge the Duwamish Tribe as an extant political and cultural institution that has survived and is thriving to this day. We continue as a tribal entity, a Treaty Nation, and as co-signers of the Treaty of Point Elliott (1855).
“Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at Muckl-te-oh, or Point Elliott, in the territory of Washington, this twenty-second day of January, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, by Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs for the said Territory, on the part of the United States, and the undersigned chiefs, head-men and delegates of the Dwamish, Suquamish, Sk-kahl-mish, Sam-ahmish, Smalh-kamish, Skope-ahmish, St-kah-mish, Snoqualmoo, Skai-wha-mish, N'Quentl-ma-mish, Sk-tah-le-jum, Stoluck-wha-mish, Sno-ho-mish, Skagit, Kik-i-allus, Swin-a-mish, Squin-ah-mish, Sah-ku-mehu, Noo-wha-ha, Nook-wa-chah-mish, Mee-see-qua-guilch, Cho-bah-ah-bish, and othe allied and subordinate tribes and bands of Indians occupying certain lands situated in said Territory of Washington, on behalf of said tribes, and duly authorized by them.”
The past and current leadership roles and contributions to the environment of our city include the efforts of Mr. James Rasmussen, senior Duwamish tribal member, who was mentored by John Beal.
John Beal, an early proponent for clean water and return of the salmon, recognized the need for collaboration among stakeholders and learned to establish common ground with local businesses, environmental organizations, and the Duwamish Tribe as early as 1976 in restoring the Duwamish River tributary of Hamm Creek and adjacent waterbodies. Beal, working with B.J. Cummings, then Executive Director of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, and James Rasmussen, spearheaded the cleanup of the polluted urban stream Hamm Creek and the greater Duwamish River and the watershed. These early efforts were instrumental in EPA’s listing of the Duwamish River as a Superfund Site, the creation of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (DRCC), and the more recent formation of the EPA’s Duwamish Roundtable, which will inform the next phase of the Cleanup Plan.
Additionally, John Beal created the non-profit International Marine Association Protecting Aquatic Life and he and James Rasmussen served as the organization’s governors during its term of registration (1990-2015).
The Superfund Manager for DRCC, EPA’s Community Advisory Group for the Duwamish Superfund site is a senior Duwamish tribal member. With the Superfund designation comes the mandate for clean water. A total of 5.5 miles of the Duwamish River and 412 acres is identified for remediation.
In 2015, the Duwamish Tribe joined hundreds of kayaker/canoer protestors at the "Paddle in Seattle" in solidarity to protest the exploration of the Arctic Sea by the Shell Oil Rig Polar Pioneer Jack Up rig at the Port of Seattle rig location aboard the tribe’s traditional Raven Canoe.
In 2020, the Duwamish Tribe is a stakeholder for the Water Resource Inventory Area 9 (WRIA 9) under the Salmon Habitat Recovery Plan to make recommendations and decisions formulated on science-based assessments, to protect and restore the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed.
The Duwamish tribe has been the recipient of King Conservation District (KCD) community grants including in 2017, “The Duwamish Upland Reforestation Project” an ongoing effort to protect, restore and reforest the green spaces adjacent to the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center with the goal to eliminate invasive species, reintroduce native vegetation to the West Seattle community and restore the property’s ecosystem by providing a place to sustain native food, medicine and wildlife habitat in relation to Duwamish culture. In 2019, KCD awarded the tribe the “Ridge to River” grant to study the remediation and return to safe, user-friendly pedestrian hiking trails linking connections between South Seattle College, Pathfinders Elementary School, and the Duwamish Longhouse. The purpose of our project is to assess trail routes through the Greenbelt and determine re-mediation options required to address the pollution of the land by cement kiln dust, a highly toxic by-product of cement production, and by doing so will meet federal, state, and municipal policy and safety regulations for trail usage and develop a comprehensive trail plan for the greenbelt, addressing recreation, education, cultural exchange, environmental justice, youth employment, and forest restoration. This project also partners with the Sno-King Watershed Council and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance to provide water quality training to tribal & community partners in EPA-certified protocols to monitor for the presence of E. Coli contamination of the waters of Puget Creek and the Port of Seattle T107 Park, Ha ah Poos, an important regional historic site called Duwamish Site No. 1, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Our involvement with Duwamish Alive links our tribe’s leadership and participation with a host of private, commercial, industrial, recreational, local, state, federal organizations and agencies, and environmental advocacy groups to organize, plan, initiate recovery efforts, and make available vibrant greenspace and waters in the Duwamish Watershed to the public.
In 2019 a Duwamish tribal member, a certified Master Naturalist, in conjunction with the Duwamish Longhouse launched a public awareness campaign against plastic litter directed towards the river and marine environments of Washington State. Decals are distributed at tribal events and the longhouse to the public as a means to message and educate citizens to reduce the introduction of plastic debris into the waterways, dispose of plastic materials properly; reduce consumption of single-use plastic items, e.g., bottled water, plastic straws, forks, knives, and spoons. The display of these anti-plastic debris decals makes a difference via messaging/education to change our habits and respect the environment and all it offers.
Most recently, the Duwamish Tribe created the Duwamish Ecotours program. The program incorporates traditional culture (storytelling, mythology, and ethnobotany) through tours, outreach, training, and volunteerism, weaving together an educational program with the natural history of the river including Hah-ah-poos, a historic village site on the Duwamish River across the street from the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center.
The “People of the Inside” demonstrate active stewardship to their ancestral lands, a commitment to healthy green spaces and clean water, and to the sharing of the land with the citizens of Seattle, associated tribal nations, and the visitors to our region in the effort to strive for equity and environmental justice now and in the future for all peoples of Washington State.
Written by Duwamish Tribal Elder-Russell Beard
“Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at Muckl-te-oh, or Point Elliott, in the territory of Washington, this twenty-second day of January, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, by Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs for the said Territory, on the part of the United States, and the undersigned chiefs, head-men and delegates of the Dwamish, Suquamish, Sk-kahl-mish, Sam-ahmish, Smalh-kamish, Skope-ahmish, St-kah-mish, Snoqualmoo, Skai-wha-mish, N'Quentl-ma-mish, Sk-tah-le-jum, Stoluck-wha-mish, Sno-ho-mish, Skagit, Kik-i-allus, Swin-a-mish, Squin-ah-mish, Sah-ku-mehu, Noo-wha-ha, Nook-wa-chah-mish, Mee-see-qua-guilch, Cho-bah-ah-bish, and othe allied and subordinate tribes and bands of Indians occupying certain lands situated in said Territory of Washington, on behalf of said tribes, and duly authorized by them.”
The past and current leadership roles and contributions to the environment of our city include the efforts of Mr. James Rasmussen, senior Duwamish tribal member, who was mentored by John Beal.
John Beal, an early proponent for clean water and return of the salmon, recognized the need for collaboration among stakeholders and learned to establish common ground with local businesses, environmental organizations, and the Duwamish Tribe as early as 1976 in restoring the Duwamish River tributary of Hamm Creek and adjacent waterbodies. Beal, working with B.J. Cummings, then Executive Director of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, and James Rasmussen, spearheaded the cleanup of the polluted urban stream Hamm Creek and the greater Duwamish River and the watershed. These early efforts were instrumental in EPA’s listing of the Duwamish River as a Superfund Site, the creation of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (DRCC), and the more recent formation of the EPA’s Duwamish Roundtable, which will inform the next phase of the Cleanup Plan.
Additionally, John Beal created the non-profit International Marine Association Protecting Aquatic Life and he and James Rasmussen served as the organization’s governors during its term of registration (1990-2015).
The Superfund Manager for DRCC, EPA’s Community Advisory Group for the Duwamish Superfund site is a senior Duwamish tribal member. With the Superfund designation comes the mandate for clean water. A total of 5.5 miles of the Duwamish River and 412 acres is identified for remediation.
In 2015, the Duwamish Tribe joined hundreds of kayaker/canoer protestors at the "Paddle in Seattle" in solidarity to protest the exploration of the Arctic Sea by the Shell Oil Rig Polar Pioneer Jack Up rig at the Port of Seattle rig location aboard the tribe’s traditional Raven Canoe.
In 2020, the Duwamish Tribe is a stakeholder for the Water Resource Inventory Area 9 (WRIA 9) under the Salmon Habitat Recovery Plan to make recommendations and decisions formulated on science-based assessments, to protect and restore the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed.
The Duwamish tribe has been the recipient of King Conservation District (KCD) community grants including in 2017, “The Duwamish Upland Reforestation Project” an ongoing effort to protect, restore and reforest the green spaces adjacent to the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center with the goal to eliminate invasive species, reintroduce native vegetation to the West Seattle community and restore the property’s ecosystem by providing a place to sustain native food, medicine and wildlife habitat in relation to Duwamish culture. In 2019, KCD awarded the tribe the “Ridge to River” grant to study the remediation and return to safe, user-friendly pedestrian hiking trails linking connections between South Seattle College, Pathfinders Elementary School, and the Duwamish Longhouse. The purpose of our project is to assess trail routes through the Greenbelt and determine re-mediation options required to address the pollution of the land by cement kiln dust, a highly toxic by-product of cement production, and by doing so will meet federal, state, and municipal policy and safety regulations for trail usage and develop a comprehensive trail plan for the greenbelt, addressing recreation, education, cultural exchange, environmental justice, youth employment, and forest restoration. This project also partners with the Sno-King Watershed Council and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance to provide water quality training to tribal & community partners in EPA-certified protocols to monitor for the presence of E. Coli contamination of the waters of Puget Creek and the Port of Seattle T107 Park, Ha ah Poos, an important regional historic site called Duwamish Site No. 1, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Our involvement with Duwamish Alive links our tribe’s leadership and participation with a host of private, commercial, industrial, recreational, local, state, federal organizations and agencies, and environmental advocacy groups to organize, plan, initiate recovery efforts, and make available vibrant greenspace and waters in the Duwamish Watershed to the public.
In 2019 a Duwamish tribal member, a certified Master Naturalist, in conjunction with the Duwamish Longhouse launched a public awareness campaign against plastic litter directed towards the river and marine environments of Washington State. Decals are distributed at tribal events and the longhouse to the public as a means to message and educate citizens to reduce the introduction of plastic debris into the waterways, dispose of plastic materials properly; reduce consumption of single-use plastic items, e.g., bottled water, plastic straws, forks, knives, and spoons. The display of these anti-plastic debris decals makes a difference via messaging/education to change our habits and respect the environment and all it offers.
Most recently, the Duwamish Tribe created the Duwamish Ecotours program. The program incorporates traditional culture (storytelling, mythology, and ethnobotany) through tours, outreach, training, and volunteerism, weaving together an educational program with the natural history of the river including Hah-ah-poos, a historic village site on the Duwamish River across the street from the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center.
The “People of the Inside” demonstrate active stewardship to their ancestral lands, a commitment to healthy green spaces and clean water, and to the sharing of the land with the citizens of Seattle, associated tribal nations, and the visitors to our region in the effort to strive for equity and environmental justice now and in the future for all peoples of Washington State.
Written by Duwamish Tribal Elder-Russell Beard