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Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center & Museum
by Danny Marshall

Article from "The Steilacoom Historical Museum Quarterly", Summer 1998.

There are over thirty Indian tribes in the State of Washington. In April 1988 when the Steilacoom Tribe opened the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center, it became only the fourth tribal owned and operated museum and cultural center in the state.

In 1973 the Tribe began working on a plan which led to a short lived agreement to utilize a five-acre site in Fort Steilacoom Park for the development of a Tribal Center. The agreement included the involvement of Fort Steilacoom Community College. Pierce County and the State of Washington. Originally, both the college and the county would have provided parcels of land to the Tribe for the center. However, as the plan matured, the county ran into difficulties with the state regarding the county’s own use of the land. The county had hoped to create some historical significance for their land use through involvement of the Steilacoom Tribe. Eventually the agreement between the county and the Tribe came to an end, leaving the Tribe disheartened with no cultural center.

On a different occasion the Federal Government made a decision to close down the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island. Long before the state decided to take over the island and convert it to a correction center, the Steilacoom Tribe was considered a potential owner. Plans were underway to develop a tribal facility, including a cultural center on the island. The Tribe was considered by all as the likely government to take over responsibility for the preservation of the unique environment contained on McNeil Island. However, in a last minute decision, the state decided to take over the prison facility and restrict the entire island to use as a correctional institution. Again the Tribe was left to begin, or continue, plans for a cultural center in a different location.

The heart of the Steilacoom Tribe has always been in Steilacoom, but availability of a suitable site for a cultural center seemed doubtful. The Tribe began exploring the area of the traditional Steilacoom Indian villages in order to locate a potential site. Specific sites in Roy, Lakewood and Spanaway were reviewed. In the end two buildings were identified as ‘for sale’ in Steilacoom. One small site outside the main town had commercial zoning, but it no way made an ideal fit to the Tribe’s needs. The other site, although ideal in size and location, had a residential zoning.

Through additional work and detailed legal negotiations, the Tribe was able to establish a restricted commercial lease on the historic 1903 Oberlin Church building. In a special permit granted to the Steilacoom Tribe by the Town of Steilacoom, the building would be converted to commercial use after the gravel lot on the west side of Lafayette was covered as a paved parking area. The Tribe began working immediately on renovation of the building interior and the gravel lot. Initial on-site development and building renovation were expensive, but soon paid off. The Tribe received a commercial designation for its historic building, and in 1988 opened the doors to the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center and Museum. A special dedication ceremony was held to bless the future of the Center in May 1989. This year, 1998, marks the tenth year since the dream of the Steilacoom people to share its culture with the public has been realized. The dedication plaque reads: