The Longhouse For The People is an Indigenous-led project of cultural revitalization and land sovereignty on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. Envisioned and led by Naiome Dawn Kreinke, a Chemakum matriarch with Quinault tribal enrollment, the project is rooted on 12 acres of land in Quilcene acquired in the summer of 2022 to fulfill a lifetime dream of restoring traditional longhouses to this land and to her lineage. Naiome gathered community support to buy back this land on her ancestral territory, now the site of the future longhouse, as well as a base for traditional gardens, cultural programs, educational events, housing, and indigenous food systems through a smokehouse and Native plantings. Jefferson Community Foundation recently assisted in finding funders for the next phase of the project— construction!
As a mixed tribal woman with ancestors from many different tribes in this region, Naiome believes the way forward is not division. Her vision is one of healing, reconciliation, and growing community with all of those who have been harmed by colonization. Longhouse for the People views healing as a process, not an endpoint. Naiome’s ancestors, her children, relatives, neighbors and extended community are all part of this process.
Naiome sees longhouse as, “places where the wounds of both colonization and long-standing tribal conflict can be healed. From 1910 to 2019 in Chemakum Territory, it was illegal to own or build a Longhouse. We are looking forward to building one and I think our ancestors have been waiting.”
The following Q & A with Longhouse project founder Naiome Kreinke offers more background and insight in this revitalization project:
Can you share the inspiration behind the Chemakum Longhouse Project?
I used to live uptown Port Townsend and would walk to Chetzamoka beach and Point Hudson where my grandma owned the Tyee Saloon buildings from 1920 to 1995 and the property was still in the family. I would imagine what it looked like pre-colonization and imagine plank houses and canoes. I knew I wanted to see these come to life again again in our territory.
The Longhouse For The People project addresses many things necessary for our survival and thriving, including: Indigenous sovereignty and decolonization, cultural revitalization, sustainable employment and job training, food security and traditional foodways, Native plant conservation, watershed and ecosystem rehabilitation, sustainable forest management and long term climate resiliency.
Why is building a longhouse significant for the Chemakum people and the broader community?
Longhouse For The People is a project to assert Chemakum sovereignty, ecological revitalization, and cultural education through the construction of a traditional longhouse on ancestral lands. As a historical center of Indigenous governance and culture, rebuilding the longhouse will create a hub for community healing, transmitting cultural knowledge (TEK); restoring the forests, prairies, and salmon streams on the land; and building relationships between local tribes and non-native people.
This is a powerful step towards healing and Indigenous sovereignty asthis will be the first Chemakum longhouse built in over a century.
What is your personal connection to this project, and what motivates you to see it come to life?
We’re bringing a Native presence back. We must uplift and cherish Indigenous voices, rights, and wellness. The longhouse will be used for educational purposes and learning about the Indigenous peoples who once flourished here. It will be open to everyone to learn about the culture and history of the Indigenous peoples of this region. The longhouse will also be a place for intertribal cultural events, such as singing, dancing, and storytelling. Sort of a living museum. And a spiritual healing center. The Longhouse will help community heal the wounds of colonization not just for the Chemakum nation, but also to heal the relationships between the Chemakum and neighboring Indigenous nations, and healing between native people and settlers.
This project is about restorative justice and the need to bring these elements of traditional culture back for ancestors past present and future.
Congratulations on receiving the grant! What does this funding mean for the project and what are the next steps now that funding is secured?
Being able to build! This summer we will be hosting an extended work party with a crew of dedicated timber framers who have worked on multiple Indigenous-led projects building cultural infrastructure. The log builders collective will have a 2 week workshop to construct the timber frame for the longhouse, using whole round logs custom-scribed and hand-joined. The workshop will bring together professional instructors and timber framers, from the desert southwest to the northern Pacific coast, to perform the carpentry work in only 14 days. This work project will also prioritize Indigenous involvement with members from the Chemakum nation and neighboring tribal communities, working together in ceremony to heal the wounds of colonization and build strong ties. Traditional carvers, cultural bearers, Native youth and Indigenous community members will work hand-in-hand to construct this spiritual landmark of healing and community.
Who has been involved in making this project a reality? Are there any key partnerships you’d like to highlight?
Yes, the project lives on land held by the Tamanowas Foundation, an Indigenous-led 508(c) and now the Longhouse for the People project is fiscally sponsored by Well Organized, a Jefferson County 501c3. We appreciate this local partnership.
We have had generous donations of wood and other supplies, have received several small grants and larger private gifts, and are hoping to grow our monthly Patreon supporters . We welcome others to become supporters in this way!
My neighbor Phillip Papajik has been coordinating wood and milling and project management. JCARF offered a big boost of support at the beginning, helping me start my dream with courage to put it out there. Roots of Resilience has helped with grant writing and networking. Many other neighbors, friends and community work parties have helped to clean and clear the land and offer support along the way.
How will the Longhouse grow community once it is built?
The project will help revitalize Chemakum culture and traditions by having space for classes such as language, song, dance and first foods. It is a learning center as well as a spiritual and cultural space. Our vision for the longhouse promotes Indigenous cultural pride, and celebrates the unique contributions of each nation and their rights to self-governance. We hope the building of the Longhouse will help bring in a new period of collaboration and cooperation between the tribes as well as the settlers in this region.
We have already brought a lot of community together to fundraise for the purchase of the land; coordinating volunteers for extensive rehabilitation of the site; restoring a native prairie ecosystem through traditional burning and planting of camas bulbs; and coordinating with other Native and non-native people to build a sawmill cooperative for longhouse construction. So we look forward to building on that community spirit.
We will host tribal events and community classes, including camping and field trips.
Will there be opportunities for community members to get involved in the construction or future programming?
Yes, community should follow us on social media and keep an eye on our website for more opportunities to volunteer and participate: www.thetamanowasfoundation.org
And follow up to learn about opportunities to share in first foods and learning by hosting and attending classes.
How can people support the project moving forward?
We hope people seek more education and support land back for tribal people in their territory and off reservation, even for tribes that aren’t federally recognized. Because the Chemakum nation is not federally recognized, members of the tribe have no reservation land or protected treaty rights – despite being signatories of the 1855 Point No Point Treaty. Colonial history claims there are no Chemakum people left, yet many Chemakum families and people persist, living on their traditional homelands, among other tribal nations and around the country. The Chemakum families have recently self-organized to form several sovereignty projects including Longhouse for the People, and a tribal council — Chemakum Tribal Services— to create visibility and gather resources for reinvigorating their cultural practices and traditions. The Chemakum families have been asserting for lifetimes that they are still here, carrying Chemakum identity into the future.
The Longhouse project is not affiliated specifically with Chemakum Tribal Services or any other tribe but is a project being developed on land held privately by the Tamanowas Foundation on my ancestral territory. I would like to see many more longhouses here again, including on waterfront land.
