Words from the S’Klallam People Acknowledgement of Land in Port Townsend
The land that we know as Port Townsend was once a thriving village of the nəxʷsƛ̕ay̕əm̕ (“new-skl-eye-emm”), or S’Klallam, People. The name of the S’Klallam village was called qatáy (“kuh-tai”), which was a word that originated from the Chimacum Tribe, and was adopted by the S’Klallam. There are S’Klallam citizens that still reference Port Townsend by its original name to this day. The S’Klallam’s infamous chief, čičməhán (“cheech-muh-hann”), or Chetzemoka, was born in qatáy in 1808. We take a moment to acknowledge the land that we hold events on once belonged to the S’Klallam People, and that the three S’Klallam/Klallam Tribal Governments still have ties to this area. This acknowledgement is a respect to the S’Klallam People and their history. *Permission by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe to Goddard College to use at educational events.
