Seattle land ‘rematriated’ to Duwamish Tribe

Six years of discussion between the city of Seattle, the Duwamish Tribe and the Shared Spaces Foundation have reached their culmination: on June 13, a 3.56 acre patch of former industrial land was “rematriated” to the Duwamish tribe, its original caretakers, fulfilling a promise five years in the making. 

Heron’s Nest, as the land is currently known, formerly held a spot on Seattle’s list of contaminated sites: the previous owner stored machinery on the land and dumped lead and arsenic throughout the plot, Mackenzie Olivo writes for Underscore Native News. Volunteer efforts led by Shared Spaces in 2020 restored the land; in 2021, Shared Spaces bought the plot with a grant from Seattle’s Strategic Investment Fund with the promise that they would return it to the Duwamish tribe.

The Duwamish tribe used the following five years to raise the funds needed to care for the property long term, growing the Duwamish Tribal Services staff from two employees to 10. The Duwamish Tribe, alongside the Seattle Giving Garden Network, have also been using the greenhouse on Heron’s Nest to produce 5,000 vegetable starts each spring, which are distributed to schools, foodbanks, tribal members and volunteers. 

The Duwamish Tribe is not federally recognized, which Nancy Sackman, vice chair of the Duwamish Tribal Council and Duwamish tribal member told Underscore Native News made the tribe’s stewardship of Heron’s Nest even more special. “To me, it seems like a huge piece of property because we are not federally recognized and do not have a reservation. So any land that we do get is a huge event,” Sackman said. 

Read the full story, below.