In 1865, the Duwamish people were the subject of a law banning them from living within city limits - despite the fact that their chief gave the city of Seattle its name. Between 1855 and 1904, ninety four Duwamish longhouses were destroyed. In 2009, the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center was opened - the first longhouse to be built in Seattle in 115 years. The center is designed, funded and managed by the Duwamish, for the Duwamish. Located across from the site of an ancestral Duwamish village, the center is the product of three decades of planning and fundraising, as there was no commercial financial involvement in its construction. A hub of “cultural activity, with regular presentations as well as museum-standard exhibits,” the center
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Reflecting on Native opportunities for self representation, Gerald McMaster notes that “Native people have had, historically, to play the role of the subject/object, the observed, rather than the observer. Rarely have we been in a position of self-representation. Native peoples have always been the informant, seldom the interrogator or initiator.” The longhouse and cultural center provides an opportunity for the tribe to present an authentic self, without the influence of corporate and commercial forces, such as Argosy Cruises at Tillicum. It is still frequented by tourists, however it is not a place where the gaze toward the exotic Other is placed upon tribal members as there is no opportunity for exploitation or inauthenticity. For the Duwamish, the longhouse represents community strength and the tribes “ability to endure [and] persevere,” symbolically demonstrating “that the tribe is here to stay.” For many decades, the Duwamish have attempted to gain federal recognition of their tribal status from the United States government. A lack of acknowledgement of historical wrongdoing towards the tribe such as breaking the Treaty of Point Elliot, the exclusion law and destruction of longhouses has prevailed through the decades of Duwamish appeals to …show more content…
Longhouse manager Jolene Williams asserts that “[At the Burke], they took us in a back room and showed us all these items that are Duwamish, they actually pulled them out before we got there, and said, ‘when you build your Longhouse and Cultural Center and get your museum going, you can have these things on loan until something happens with your recognition, where they would be given back to you. They would be repatriated.” The lack of tribal recognition has resulted in no occurrences of repatriation. In 2013, the Burke removed archaeological objects that been displayed in the center since its opening four years prior. Because of the tribe’s unofficial status, the Port of Seattle (who owns the land where the objects were found) wanted to repatriate the objects to a federally recognized tribe. The question of rightful ownership of the objects was complicated by the complex history of the tribal inhabitants of the area, who contested Duwamish tribal origin and entitlement, demonstrating conflict not only between museum and tribe, but between local tribal communities. Despite the achievements
Reflecting on Native opportunities for self representation, Gerald McMaster notes that “Native people have had, historically, to play the role of the subject/object, the observed, rather than the observer. Rarely have we been in a position of self-representation. Native peoples have always been the informant, seldom the interrogator or initiator.” The longhouse and cultural center provides an opportunity for the tribe to present an authentic self, without the influence of corporate and commercial forces, such as Argosy Cruises at Tillicum. It is still frequented by tourists, however it is not a place where the gaze toward the exotic Other is placed upon tribal members as there is no opportunity for exploitation or inauthenticity. For the Duwamish, the longhouse represents community strength and the tribes “ability to endure [and] persevere,” symbolically demonstrating “that the tribe is here to stay.” For many decades, the Duwamish have attempted to gain federal recognition of their tribal status from the United States government. A lack of acknowledgement of historical wrongdoing towards the tribe such as breaking the Treaty of Point Elliot, the exclusion law and destruction of longhouses has prevailed through the decades of Duwamish appeals to …show more content…
Longhouse manager Jolene Williams asserts that “[At the Burke], they took us in a back room and showed us all these items that are Duwamish, they actually pulled them out before we got there, and said, ‘when you build your Longhouse and Cultural Center and get your museum going, you can have these things on loan until something happens with your recognition, where they would be given back to you. They would be repatriated.” The lack of tribal recognition has resulted in no occurrences of repatriation. In 2013, the Burke removed archaeological objects that been displayed in the center since its opening four years prior. Because of the tribe’s unofficial status, the Port of Seattle (who owns the land where the objects were found) wanted to repatriate the objects to a federally recognized tribe. The question of rightful ownership of the objects was complicated by the complex history of the tribal inhabitants of the area, who contested Duwamish tribal origin and entitlement, demonstrating conflict not only between museum and tribe, but between local tribal communities. Despite the achievements