State gives historic park to Suquamish Tribe

By Emily Heffter
Seattle Times staff reporter

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

The transfer of the 1-acre Old Man House State Park, bordered by waterfront homes on the eastern edge of the Kitsap Peninsula, was the first time the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission gave land to a tribe.

"This is a good step in the healing process for the tribe, to see this type of a turnaround taken by state government," said Rob Purser, a former Suquamish Tribal Councilmember who led the tribe's effort to obtain the park.

The park is sacred to tribal members. It once was the site of their "mother village" and Chief Seattle's longhouse. The tribe was poor and struggling with disease when the U.S. Army bought the land from it in 1904, and housing developers owned it before it became a state park in 1950.

Debate over whether to give the park to the tribe divided the small town of Suquamish, Kitsap County. One neighborhood group tried to volunteer to maintain the park in order to preclude the transfer. Another group joined forces with the tribe in support.

The vote came down to who could do a better job "telling the story" of Old Man House and the land's significance, said parks commission Chairman Joe Taller.

"You have an opportunity to heal old wounds, and I think reach out a hand in friendship today that I think will heal our community," Rev. Tom Thresher of the Suquamish Community Congregational United Church of Christ testified yesterday.

After the unanimous decision, the seven-member commission had to briefly recess to let supporters celebrate. Tribal members banged on shallow drums the size of Frisbees and sang a traditional song of thanks. About 20 Suquamish who had arrived at the meeting by canoe banged their paddles on the floor, and members of the Suquamish-Olalla-area Neighbors, a group that supported the transfer, clapped along, some wiping away tears.

It was a moment in what one neighbor referred to as the Suquamish Tribe's "renaissance." The tribe opened a new casino last summer and has been gradually buying property on its reservation on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Members of a neighborhood group that opposed the transfer said the commission caved in to melodramatic testimony.

"They've chosen to disregard the law and go with the emotional appeal," said Buzz Whiteley, who opposed the park's transfer. Whiteley said he fears the land will be made private, used for development, or that the tribe will allow drinking and fireworks there.
 
"There is an issue of trust," said Matthew Cleverley, the president of the group that opposed the transfer, Friends of Old Man House State Park.

The Suquamish promise to spend $50,000 over the next five years maintaining the park. The state can take the land back if the tribe tries to privatize the land or fails to adhere to its management plan, which outlines park hours and other restrictions.

Maintenance of the shell-covered piece of beach has been spotty in recent years because of state budget cuts, state parks officials have said. Interpretive signs at the park were last updated in 1975, and they declare that the park was used by the Suquamish "who once lived in this area."

"I think they still do," quipped David McMullen of the Olalla neighbors group.

Emily Heffter: 425-783-0624 or eheffter@seattletimes.com