TULALIP – The dream is still alive.
So boldly proclaims a large wooden sign to passing motorists on Marine Drive, just off I-5.
The Tulalip Tribes’ concept of a cultural museum, born a quarter-century ago, is finally becoming more than a dream; it’s a step closer to being realized.
Dan Bates / The Herald
Early this year, the tribes will begin construction of the House of Remembering, through which Tulalips hope to launch a cultural rediscovery and celebration of their history, values, language, culture and traditions.
The museum, expected to cost up to $9 million, will be built in three phases over several years at 6410 23rd Ave. NE, south of Marine Drive. It will house and showcase hundreds of artifacts, some up to 300 years old. Along with a museum, it will include an office building and about 10 acres as a natural history preserve.
The tribal board of directors has allocated $330,000 to get the project moving. It will earmark another $1.8 million this year and about $4 million in 2007. A final allocation of $3.1 million in 2008 will complete the project.
“The importance to the tribes is it is really for compiling our history that is scattered all over this land and centralizing it in a place, not only for the tribal membership, but also for educating the public about who we are as a people,” Cultural Resources director Hank Gobin said.
People need to understand “who we are, where did we come from, how did we get here, where are we now, and where are we going?” Gobin said, quoting Wayne Williams Sr., an elder and former tribal leader.
“That is the theme, and the thread that will permeate itself through realizing this dream,” added Gobin, who has been the driving force behind the museum for many years.
“We’re moving ahead slowly, but we need to really push that,” Tribal Chairman Stan Jones Sr. said. “We have so many artifacts and things to be put in there, and I’m afraid they’re being lost.”
The artifacts include weavings, masks, rattles, canoes, cedar bark clothing, fishing hooks, spears, photographs, musical instruments and utilitarian and ceremonial items – a variety that speaks to the traditional life of the Tulalip Tribes, also called the “Salmon People.”
They are from several tribes of Coast Salish American Indians, including the Snohomish, Skykomish, Snoqualmie and other tribes that lived in the area for thousands of years.
The museum’s financial plan will need to include money for ongoing maintenance, acquisitions, education, exhibits, community service and language development, tribal officials said.
It will have an endowment fund to supplement revenue generated by admission and special-event fees, a gift shop and a museum cafe, officials said in a publication about the museum.
The Tulalips seek support from the broader community, including volunteers, docents, craft teachers and storytellers, and donations of artifacts. The Lushootseed language will get special emphasis in the museum.
The first phase will be construction of a collection and office facility, a place where historical items can be stored properly. The building will be 125 feet long, 60 feet wide and two stories high, Gobin said.
Workers plan to begin clearing the land in February. Construction is likely to start in April.
The second phase later in the year will be the museum itself. The final phase will include landscaping and rehabilitation of streams in an area that is home to beavers, eagles, hawks, deer and other wildlife.
The tribe wasn’t able to afford the museum in the past, but thanks to income from its two casinos and other business ventures, the dream now can be a reality.
“Our people have waited for this a long time,” Gobin said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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