At Suquamish Tribe, signs of times to come —and of the journey traveled

For many people who attended the celebrations on May 18 and 21, the events were more than signs of economic times to come for the Suquamish Tribe. They were signs of just how far the Tribe has journeyed economically.

May 22, 2015 8:58 am

Tags: North Kitsap

By RICHARD WALKER
and SARA N. MILLER
North Kitsap Herald

SUQUAMISH — For many people who attended the celebrations on May 18 and 21, the events were more than signs of economic times to come for the Suquamish Tribe.

They were signs of just how far the Tribe has journeyed economically.

Suquamish Tribe communications officer April Leigh remembers her first job with the Tribe — as a card dealer in the casino when it operated in a fabric structure.

So, she was misty eyed May 18 as Suquamish officials opened the newest phase of the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort — 98 more hotel rooms — as well as a café, a fine-dining restaurant, 10,000 square feet of meeting space and an outdoor terrace. The next phase begins in February; the casino will be remodeled with a larger lounge, larger stage and larger non-smoking section.

Three days later, Suquamish officials opened the new Suquamish Seafoods — a 16,000-square-foot seafood processing plant, eight times larger than the former plant. The plant has chilled processing rooms, live-product holding areas, larger cold storage and air-blast freezers.

Until now, Suquamish Seafoods has concentrated on geoduck. It now has the ability to deliver fresh clams, crab and salmon to its commercial customers.

“We’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Suquamish Seafoods general manager Tony Forsman said May 21. “The Tribal members have wanted to see this happen and now we have.

A song was sung. Suquamish elder Manuel “Cohomo” Purcell ceremoniously blessed the building with a prayer. Excitement in the air was evident; Forsman talked about how he wants the fishing industry to be a way to help Suquamish youth connect with their culture.

The building is located next to the Chief Kitsap Academy and displays photographs and paintings representing Suquamish culture. The upstairs is home to several administrators as well as a few offices rented to the school. There is also a conference room.

The Suquamish Tribal Council supplied $2 million for the project.

In an earlier interview, Ed Midkiff, a former board member of Port Madison Enterprises, said the Tribe’s economic growth has been “an amazing trip to watch.”

He said at the time, “We’re buying back our land and sending people to school.”

In that interview, Midkiff remembered the unemployment of Suquamish’s pre-boom era.

“You used to see people wandering around doing nothing, waiting for fishing and clamming [to open]. As that changed, the people disappeared [into jobs].”

Today, Port Madison Enterprises, the Tribe’s economic development arm, is the second-largest private-sector employer in Kitsap County with 752 employees, surpassed only by Harrison Medical Center. That’s according to data from the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance.

The Tribe has reacquired land lost during the allotment era, and “the Tribe and Tribal members now own more than half of the land on the reservation for the first time in recent history,” Leigh said in an earlier interview.

Under way: Construction is expected to be completed by fall on a 34,000-square-foot fitness and youth center, on Totten Road near the Tribe’s early learning center and a sports field.

The Suquamish Tribe government has a preliminary master plan for Suquamish Shores, a neighborhood of 80 lots on 36 acres, midway between the government center and the House of Awakened Culture. Leases there expire in 2018, and Chairman Leonard Forsman said the Tribe is looking at restoring the area to accommodate cultural activities, recreation, and, possibly, housing for elders.

Until now, Suquamish Seafoods has concentrated on geoduck. It now has the ability to deliver fresh clams, crab and salmon to its commercial customers. Sara N. Miller / Herald