Affordable housing is welcome here, per the Suquamish Tribe.
Chairman Leonard Forsman of the Suquamish Tribe issued an official response to claims that a proposed affordable housing development near the recently-installed Welcome Pole on Bainbridge Island could be disrespectful to the tribe’s heritage.
Neither the tribe nor the artist who carved the pole, tribal member Randi Purser, “see the proposed project as having a significant or damaging impact on the welcome pole or its purpose,” said Forsman in a statement.
“The Suquamish Indian Tribe is generally in support of affordable housing in Kitsap County that conforms to the Growth Management Act, as we work together to meet housing needs and prevent sprawl that threatens our ancestral ecosystems,” Forsman added.
Two Bainbridge residents, none of whom are members of the Suquamish Tribe, shared concerns at the Sept. 11 meeting of the Planning Commission that the proposed three-to four-story building at the corner of Winslow Way and Highway 305 would destroy the sightlines between the two Welcome Poles on either side of Puget Sound, which represent Chief Seattle’s father and mother.
Citing a letter from and conversation with Gina Corpuz, an elder and leader of the Indipino community, Stephanie Reese and Yasmin Guggenheimer called for a stop to the affordable housing project.
“As Gina told me [Sept. 10], this is not about land development at that corner or affordable housing. This is about honoring the ancestors of our land and remembering and not being what people acknowledge only in words, but in thoughtful actions and reverence,” said Reese. “We are also the residents now. Our ferries are like the canoes, and we are being welcomed home. Do not build and block the mother and father gazing at one another from across the water, giving us and our visitors their blessing.”
The pole depicting Schweabe, historic Suquamish chief and Chief Seattle’s father, is stationed at the entrance to the Sound to Olympics Trail on Bainbridge Island, facing south. Sholeetsa, Duwamish tribal member and Chief Seattle’s mother, stands on the Seattle Waterfront facing west, in front of a two-story building at Pier 54.
BI Mayor Ashley Mathews dictated the statement from Chairman Forsman at the city council meeting Sept. 23.
“I’m concerned that someone in the community was using the Suquamish Tribe to try to stop this project, pitting Brown against Brown, which is one of the most egregious things I can think of,” Mathews said.
Corpuz could not be reached for comment.
