History

OUR HISTORY

(Prepared by the Duwamish Tribe)

The Duwamish people have been in the Seattle / Greater King County area since time immemorial. Our stories, such as "North Wind, South Wind", tell of the last Ice Age, and an Ice Weir breaking over the Duwamish River. 

We were the first signatories on the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, signed by Chief Si'ahl, who was chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. 

Our longhouse today stands across the street from where one of our largest villages was located before it was burned down by settlers in 1895.

WHO WE ARE TODAY

We are the host tribe for Seattle, our area’s only indigenous tribe. Many of our enrolled members still live on Duwamish aboriginal territory, which includes Seattle, Burien, Tukwila, Renton, and Redmond.  Our tribe is governed by a 1925 constitution and its bylaws.  The six-members tribal council, headed by Cecile Hansen since 1975, meets monthly, and tribal gatherings are held at least annually. Tribal leadership has been very stable with fewer than six changes in leadership in the last 85 years.

Duwamish Tribal Services, is a 501[c]3 organization established in 1983 by the Duwamish Tribal Council to promote the social, cultural, and economic survival of the Duwamish Tribe.  We brought suit against the government in 1925 and received a positive judgement for our claims in 1934, each of our members receiving payment from the government in 1964. We filed our first petition for recognition in 1978 and have been working for that acknowledgment ever since in the face of great odds.

We regularly provide Duwamish representatives and speakers for public engagements in the community, schools, universities, and heritage and service organizations. Consistent with native protocol, the Duwamish routinely greet visiting foreign and tribal leaders when they visit our area.  Our tribal board members sit on the boards of key community and governmental organization concerning environmental, heritage, tourism, and neighborhood issues.

Since the 1980s, DTS has administered the Emergency Food Assistance Program funded by the Washington State’s Office of Community, Trade, and Economic Development.  The program provides on average 72 native people and their families with monthly foods vouchers and other support services.
 
We are the host tribe for Seattle.

THE DUWAMISH TRIBE

In 1983, after more than 100 years of broken United States treaty promises, the Dxʷdəwʔabš established Duwamish Tribal Services as a non-profit 501[C]3 organization to provide social and cultural services to the Duwamish Tribal community.

In the absence of federal recognition, funding, and human services, Duwamish Tribal Services has struggled to provide numerous social, educational, health, and cultural programs during the past 35 years. The Duwamish Tribe currently has around 600 enrolled members.  Many more people have dxʷdəwʔabš ancestry but have chosen to enroll with federally recognized tribes, in order to obtain health and other human services.

For over 30 years, Cecile Hansen has been the elected chair of the Duwamish Tribe. Cecile Hansen is the great great grandniece of Chief Si’ahl'. Cecile Hansen is also a founder and former president of Duwamish Tribal Services.  

Seattle's First People, the dxʷdəwʔabš, welcomes support from all sources, public and private. Contributions to Duwamish Tribal Services, a 501(c)(3) organization registered with the State of Washington and the IRS, are tax-deductible.

To support the Duwamish Tribe and the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, contact the Honorable Cecile Hansen at Duwamish Tribal Services, 4705 West Marginal Way SW, Seattle, 98106, or call (206) 431-1582 or email us a info@duwamishtribe.org.