Friday, November 20, 2009  
 Suquamish Museum & Cultural Center

 Current Museum

 

archive

15838 Sandy Hook Rd. Poulsbo, WA 98370

 

 

 

 

WINTER HOURS (OCTOBER 1ST THROUGHT APRIL 30TH)
FRIDAY – SATURDAY – SUNDAY
11:00 A.M. TO 4:00 P.M.
CLOSED MONDAY THROUGH THRUSDAY EXCEPT BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

SUMMER HOURS (MAY 1ST THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH)
10:00 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M.
DAILY (SEVEN DAYS A WEEK)

GUIDED TOURS SCHEDULED WITH 48 HOUR ADVANCE APPOINTMENT ONLY

ADMISSIONS:

ADULTS…………………............................................................................$ 4.00
SENIORS (55 YEAR AND OVER)………............................................……$ 3.00
CHILDERN (12 YEARS AND UNDER)…….......................................……..$ 2.00


In 1983, the Suquamish Museum was the second Native American Museum to open in Washington State.  The origin of the Suquamish Museum came about earlier, however, in 1977, when the Suquamish Tribe created the Suquamish Tribal Cultural Center, a non-project organization dedicated to the reconstruction and preservation of the history of the Suquamish Tribe.  After several years of successful collection of oral history, rare artifact and old photograph collection, the Tribe dedicated space at its Tribal Center facility to open the Museum and make the information available to the public. The Suquamish Museum Mission Statement is as follows:

The Suquamish Museum’s mission is to collect, protect, educate, and preserve the history and culture of the Puget Sound Salish Tribes with an emphasis on the Suquamish Tribe.  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.

Our annual visitation is about 8,000 guests including school groups, international and community groups from as far away as France, Italy, Spain, and Japan.  The Museum also provides college students research access to Museum records and materials.  The size of the Suquamish Museum is approximately 6,500 square feet; 4,292 of which is exhibit space, 1,100 is office space and 1,108 is archive space. Special characteristics and current activities include the following:

 

122 Artifacts

9,308 Photographic Archives, including negatives and originals

150 Oral Histories and documenting information

4,000 Catalogue cards, files and archival records

Current Exhibit - “The Eyes of Chief Seattle”

Current Exhibit -  “Old Man House: The People and Their Way of Life at D’Suq'Wub”

For a complete list of items currently for sale in our Museum Gift Shop, please see this PDF document. This list includes handmade, one-of-a-kind art pieces, crafted by local tribal artists. Each item can be purchased at the Gift shop, or over the phone using a Visa/MasterCard. Every item ordered over the phone is mailed with return-receipt certification as well as a purchase receipt. If we are out of stock of an item you wish to purchase, we will promptly re order it at our earliest convenience. Please telephone us at (360) 394-8496 or fax us at (360) 598-5495 and give us the item PLU number, title, price and your method of payment. We will also either call or fax you back with a confirmation number and total amount due.

 

canoes

 

Suquamish culture, history and modern accomplishments are represented in the Tribal museum's collection and archives. Our holdings include baskets, woven mats, bone and stone artifacts, oral history tapes, archival and contemporary photographs and negatives, carvings, full sized canoes, newspapers, maps, Tribal archives, and more than 500 items from the Old Man House site, recently repatriated from the State of Washington.

 

HOURS OF OPERATION:

 New Facility

 

The current museum has been housed since 1989 in converted office space at the former Tribal Center. However, the collection has grown substantially in recent years and now exceeds the exhibit and storage capacity of this space. Because the collection includes fragile organic, audio, and photographic materials, strict climate control is required for safe exhibition and long-term preservation. Climate control does not exist in the current space.

The new 9,000 square foot Museum and Arts Center will be located across from the Tribal Center. It will include appropriate exhibition and storage spaces and a sophisticated climate control system to ensure safe preservation. The new Center will feature 3,010 square feet total interior exhibit spaceÑover 1,500 square feet more than the present museum.

The new Museum and Arts Center will create a visitor-focused immersion experience in past and present Suquamish life. Visitors will gather in the lobby and move through thematic areas that evoke the spirit of Old Man House, the Canoe Journey, pre-contact and contemporary Suquamish culture, and voices of the past and present Suquamish people.

The new Center will also include an intimate auditorium, an archive and research room, gift shop, public meeting room and ADA-compliant public restrooms. The archive and research room will provide increased access to documents and artifacts for tribal and community members and visiting scholars.

The intimate auditorium will be used for public exhibit-related lectures, performances, presentations and classes on Suquamish culture, language and traditional Suquamish arts and crafts.

The new Museum and Arts Center offers a window into the history and culture of the Tribe and the region. It will preserve and protect the Tribe's irreplaceable artifacts and archival materials for generations to come.

Completion of the Center by 2009 will enable the Tribe to host the Coast Salish Exhibit from the National Museum of the American Indian later that year.

 

new museum

 

new museum

 Museum News

 

May has seen the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort Orientation Tour and guided tours for local school groups requiring two guides. The showers from April seem to continue into the month of May so I hope that June will bring us sun shine and warmer weather.

Our classes through Northwest Indian College and the Burke Museum are going great and will be over by the first of June. With the summer off to prepare of the hosting we hope to have all our staff ready for numerous guests and campers outside. This year everything will be as different as we will have folks here for a week and must be sure to have everything ready to cover all their needs. Wow, Tina, we are very proud of you and all you are doing, and will be doing to get this done and we will help where ever we can.

The digitalizing of the archives is moving along and we still want volunteers to come and work with us on this project. Please call us at either 360-394-8496 or 360- 394-8495 to set the time to come in and work with Lydia Sigo on the project. This is a great data entry project and chance to learn about the Tribe’s history.

The American Association of Museums Annual Meeting in Philadelphia PA was great and I had the chance to mentor with students from two different Tribal regions. Both are recent graduates and are looking to organize panels next year in Los Angeles CA. The young ladies have read different things I have written through NMAI. I was very impressed by these young ladies and their goals. I was able to meet with folks from the AAM Board and my dear friend Rick West. Everyone is excited about our new museum and the opening. Rick West said to make sure he is invited, he will be here. This is great to hear and what an honor for us to have him come. Mike Felts and Noel Purser also attended on behalf of the Suquamish Foundation and Mike was really making some great contacts. My friends Genevieve and Rita were also impressed with Mike and his knowledge about the Suquamish Tribe’s business plans. Mike and I are planning to meet and talk about more fund raising ideas and the new contacts we both have from this meeting.

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