S’Klallam Tide to Table Program Development & Sustainability Design

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (Nux Sklai Yem [the Strong People]) are descendants of the Salish people located in the Puget Sound region near Port Gamble, Washington. The Salish peoples have been associated with the Salish Sea basin for the last four millennia. While external interlopers and various economic systems have come and gone, the S’Klallam people have remained intricately connected to their coastal ecosystem with the ability to draw sustenance and thrive in an environment that would challenge others. Their traditional knowledge system has allowed them to pass food acquisition practices down through the generations. As Tribal leadership strives to provide stable livelihoods for the people in the current age, they face the modern challenges of lack of access to capital, risk management, environmental challenges, stagnant market conditions for their surplus production. Such a situation puts Tribal food sovereignty and economic stability at risk. With a project they’ve entitled S’Klallam Tide to Table Program Development & Sustainability Design they intend to alleviate some of the risk. A challenge unique to this community is the dependency on marine resources in a frequently traveled and heavily cultivated waterway. The primary objectives of this project include investing in infrastructure and equipment to stabilize capital acquisition. A wet storage system to be placed within their existing wet lab facility will allow for the installation of a shellfish grader/sorter right at the beach, enhancing sorting efficiency and harvest quality. These advancements will initiate a pathway for the community to transition to commercial operations. The S’Klallam people are establishing a community centric / cultural model of economic development that will incorporate traditional knowledge into culturally appropriate materials that will inform all their marketing efforts. In addition, they will establish a training program to ensure that Tribal members are leaders of the operation. They believe they can complete this project in 24 months. This is an innovative project because it will allow the Tribal values of community engagement and environmental stewardship to lead to increased economic activity. Lifelong fishers and harvesters will find an avenue to improve their economic circumstances in a more cooperative context. This project aligns with NAAF’s access to capital mission by supporting community centric models of economic development while providing resources for investment in infrastructure thereby creating a pathway to sustainable commercial operations with a goal of strengthened economic resiliance for the S’Klallam community.