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Old
Man
House Park
2004 CAMPAIGN
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Man House Park
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Man House Park Newsletter
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2003:
a
remarkable year for
Suquamish Olalla Neighbors
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| vThe
Bainbridge and North Kitsap Interfaith Council
accepted our invitation to participate in Suquamish Olalla
Neighbors. |
 vWe
held our annual meeting and a pot luck, which celebrated those in the
community who have been doing extra special work with our young
people. We focused on the teachers and administrators at Suquamish
Elementary School, including those who have developed the
Basket Marsh, a wonderful place where young people learn about
their local wetland
ecosystems while also learning how Native peoples have used
wetland plants for basket making. This program has since won a
national EPA award, and a group from Suquamish Elementary School
went to Washington, DC, to receive the award. Suquamish Olalla
Neighbors contributed $200 towards their travel expenses.
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vWe
co-sponsored two cultural events: THEN & NOW:
From the First Stories to Contemporary
Native American Works and an evening of
ancestral music featuring Git Hoan, Na Mele ‘O Hawai’i and Akoma.
|
 vRich Brooks
and Rob Purser from the Suquamish Tribe contacted Suquamish Olalla
Neighbors about Old Man House Park.
The state was (and is) discussing the possibility of returning to
the Tribe this land that was once the site of the famous Long
House of Chief Sealth and Chief Kitsap and the center of the
Suquamish village. Past efforts to do so have broken down when
some in the area have adamantly opposed such a move.
Suquamish
Olalla Neighbors heard the Tribe’s presentation, heard
from the “Friends of the Park,” a group formed to
encourage the state to maintain ownership of the land, and
decided that we would work with the Tribe to
see that this land - taken from the Tribe in 1903, is returned to
the Tribe, if possible, on the 100th anniversary of
when it was taken away
 Since then, along with the Tribe, we have produced,
a newsletter, a
survey, done outreach to organizations and individuals in both the Tribal and non-Tribal communities, co-organized with the Tribe a
community meeting and
workshop to gain public input into how the park should be managed if the Tribe does reacquire the land.
We believe this is a win-win opportunity: the Tribe can regain this land that is so central to their history and culture, and park users and neighbors can continue to enjoy the park. The detailed
management plan developed jointly by the Tribe and by non-Native members of the community, based on hundreds of comments from surveys, e-mails, letters, and comments at a community meeting and workshop shows that this goal is within reach. We still have some major work ahead to convince the state Parks and Recreation Commission to move forward with turning the land over to the Tribe, but we believe that together, we can do it.
vDuring
the summer, we launched our website so that our
activities and information about the issues we work
on are easily accessible.
vIn
October, we participated in an anti-hate
rally in support of the Jewel Box Theater's
production of of the Laramie Project.
vThe other major issue for the year has been the Memorandum of Understanding and it’s close cousin, Element K in the
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council planning
policies. These two documents simply laid out ways for different government entities in Kitsap County would work together. Surprisingly, these became controversial as a few people insisted that the Tribes not be fully included in these documents as governments.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Suquamish Tribe and the Kitsap County Commission is still on hold. However, because so many of you came to the hearing on November 24 and sent emails and letters, the Commission voted 3-0 to approve Element K, including full acknowledgement of Tribal governance. With over 70 people at the hearing standing up (literally) for full respect and recognition of Tribal sovereignty, this was a proud moment for North Kitsap County, and one that will help heal some wounds and bring us forward together. Please
consider supporting our work
through your membership or contribution.
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