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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Please join us for “The Ride of a
Century: 1904-2004.” Inspired by the Freedom Rides of the
civil rights era, this will be a ride to Port Angeles to ask the
State Parks and Recreation
Commission to return Old Man House State Park to the Suquamish
Tribe. You won’t have to confront police dogs or water hoses.
Just meet us at the Suquamish Tribal Center on Sandy Hook Road
at 8 am on August 12th.
Please also invite friends and family, your
church or temple, your book club or political group. If you
would like someone to speak to your group on the historic
importance of the park, please let us know and we will send a
speaker.
Please ask people who can come to sign up
on the downloadable list (or simply send name, phone number, and
email address), and return it to Rich Brooks (fax:
360-598-4666). Or email the information to: rbrooks@suquamish.nsn.us.
Help us fill the bus! Please also email Rich to let him
know if you can be there.
With the outpouring of support for transfer
of the park, it may seem that the decision is obvious. But we
don't know what the Parks Commissioners will decide. Your
presence is important.
This is an historic opportunity to right a
wrong and to return a small part of what was once the center of
the Suquamish Nation to the people of Chief Seattle. Join us for
this once-in-a-century opportunity.
Thanks and best wishes,
Rob Purser
for the Suquamish Tribe
Sarah van Gelder for Suquamish Olalla Neighbors
PS Please let us know if you can be
on the bus. We are collecting names and phone numbers of those
who will come. If you are coming from Seattle, we can meet the
ferry that leaves Seattle at 7:05 a.m. Tell us if you need a
ride from the ferry (or from elsewhere). |
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MORE INFORMATION:
Q: Where and when will the meeting
take place?
A: VERN BURTON CENTER, 308 EAST 4TH (CORNER OF 4TH &
PEABODY), PORT ANGELES, WASHINGTON 98362 - 0217 on August 12. The Old Man
House agenda item should be coming up at about 11:00 am. Even if
you plan to drive yourself, please tell us if you're planning to
come.
Q: What will happen at the meeting?
A: The Parks and Recreation Commission will hear from the
public and then make a decision (we hope). We expect there to be
a large showing from the opposition. It is very important that
we have large numbers supporting the transfer of the park.
Q: Should I prepare to give
testimony?
A: Many of you have already written eloquent letters of
support. At the up-coming community meeting, only a few will
have a chance to speak. But your presence is very important. We
will arrange in advance with some speakers to make sure we cover
certain ground in the time permitted. You may also sign up to
speak, especially if you feel an important point has not yet
been made.
Q: I'm awfully busy this summer. How
important is this meeting?
A: Old Man House holds enormous historic and cultural
significance to the Suquamish Tribe. Although it is a tiny park,
it is part of the site of the mother village of the Suquamish
people and was the site of one of the largest long houses in the
region, and the home of Chief Seattle. In 1904, the US military
took the land to use for a military base. When they determined
that they did not want to build a base after all, they sold the
land to developers. Fortunately, the Washington State Parks and
Recreation Department had the foresight to recognize the
historic importance of the land, and preserved a small section
as a park.
This is an opportunity to right an
historic wrong by helping get this land returned to the tribe.
There has been an impressive outpouring of support. But the
decision could go either way. Your involvement in this historic
effort could make the difference.
Q: What will happen to the park if
it is returned to the Tribe?
A: The Tribe has committed to keeping the park open to
all, and are looking forward to sharing the rich culture and
history of this region through interpretive displays at the
park. There is no one better able to interpret the historic
significance of this site to the public than the Suquamish
people, whose small museum has been named the best Native
American museum in the Northwest by the Smithsonian and won
other awards for the quality of their historic interpretation.
Upkeep
and maintenance will improve as the park moves from the
financially strapped Parks Department, which has rated Old Man
House Park among its lowest priority parks statewide, to the
Suquamish Tribe, which has already allocated $50,000 over five
years to upkeep and improvements at the park, and sees the land
as an important priority. The Tribe has also acknowledged the
other uses of the park, for water access, quiet meditation,
education about the marine environment, archeology, and small
gatherings, and the Tribe's Park Management Plan addresses the
needs of all these user groups.
The
Suquamish Tribe has been seeking the return of the park since
1983. They have maintained throughout that their intent is to
continue to keep this park open to the public. Park neighbors,
park users, and the entire community has a legitimate interest
in the security, hours, and maintenance of the park. These
concerns have also been carefully addressed in the Park
Management plan, which was developed based on comments from a
wide range of the comunity and reviewed with neighbors, park
users, tribal members, parks staff, and others. The Tribal
Council has committed to establishing a park community advisory
board to continue the community involvement process.
Q: What opportunity did the
community have to be involved in the development of the
management plan for the park?|
A: The Tribe conducted an exhaustive public involvement
process leading up to the drafting of the Park Management Plan.
The process, carried out in conjunction with Suquamish Olalla
Neighbors, included surveys (316 were collected), a website,
notice in newspapers, letters mailed to residents of adjacent
neighborhoods, newsletters, and two community meetings. A total
of 471 comments were collected and entered into a database used
for the preparation of the management plan, and 91 comments were
received on the draft management plan. A committee of Tribal and
non-Tribal members drafted the park management plan, which was
ratified by the Suquamish Tribal Council after review by the
larger community.
Q: Why now?
A: This year is the 100th anniversary of the year the
land was taken from the Tribe. The Tribe has waited long enough;
there is no better time then now. This is the right time to
return the land to the people whose history in this place dates
back thousands of years.
MORE INFORMATION on the history of the park, the
management plan, and public involvement process is at http://www.soneighbors.org.
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