The Center’s proximity to a significant site, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, offers a rare opportunity to display never before seen artifacts and to create interpretive exhibits and tours to maximize its cultural and recreational public use.
Together with our allied partners, we have built the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center (DLCC) overlooking the Duwamish River Valley, near the village called hah-AH-poos, a major archeological site known as Duwamish Site No. 1.
The Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center (DLCC) project began in the 1990s with our partners from the community helping us towards our goal of reclaiming land within our ancestral territory.
The hallmark of the DLCC project is inclusiveness. Our tribal members served on boards, environmental committees, and took a leadership role in community planning efforts. The broad based community support for the DLCC was the result of decades of collaboration. Our collaborative process involved 36 community groups, several branches of government including the Washington State Department of National Resources, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington State Tourism office. Citizens, local government representatives, tribal members, and community leaders met weekly over a 6 year period to develop the concensus plan for a historic corridor along the Duwamish river. The Seattle City Council adopted the Alki/Harbor/Duwamish Corridor Plan in December 1997 to guide future development of the corridor.
The Duwamish Longhouse was the final major component crowning this vision. With the “Birthplace of Seattle” Log House Museum at one end, and the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center at the other, we have created a destination where visitors can experience on site the authentic Native American and pioneer heritage.
