The Suquamish Museum is in the heart of Suquamish Village on the Port Madison Indian Reservation located on the breathtaking Kitsap Peninsula, named after Suquamish Chief Kitsap. The county boasts over 250 miles of saltwater shoreline, miles and miles of hiking and biking trails and many vibrant communities. At the corner of Suquamish Way & Division Streets, the new Suquamish Museum facility designed by Mithun Architects (Seattle) has a natural and environmental footprint. LEED design certification, indigeneous landscaping, site water managment, and conscious use of natural materials throughout honor the Suquamish culture and traditions.
The Suquamish Museum opened at the Tribal Administration Center on Sandy Hook Road in 1983. First Chartered by the Suquamish Tribe in 1977 as the Suquamish Tribal Cultural Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to the reconstruction and preservation of the history of the Suquamish Tribe. Leading up to the opening of the Museum was a successful Oral History project among Suquamish elders, a research project to locate historic photographs and manuscripts for an Archives and increasing gifts of precious artifacts.
The vision for a Museum facility grew until the Suquamish Tribal Council committed in 2000 to a fundraising campaign culminating in the opening of the new Suquamish Museum facility on Suquamish Way in September 2012.
In order to do this the Suquamish Museum must provide exhibits that allow the visitors from all age levels to understand the culture and history from the view of the First Peoples of the Puget Sound and the Suquamish Tribe, through the use of oral history, photography, artifacts, replication and audio/visual productions. With the assistance of Tribal elders, scholars and other museum professionals, the Suquamish Museum will strive to meet all of the above goals, and provide visitors with a new understanding of the Native Peoples of the Puget Sound and the Suquamish Tribe.
