The Seattle Fireboat Duwamish was named after the Duwamish Tribe of Indians that once inhabited the lands of the Puget Sound by the thousands.

Duwamish means “People of the Inside.” The name refers to Elliott Bay, the Duwamish River and the other waterways that comprise their ancestral homeland.

In 1851 Chief Seattle and the Duwamish people greeted the first European Immigrants to arrive in this area. The Duwamish provided transportation, labor & food. The new Settlers named their city “Seattle” after their Protector & benefactor. By the late 1800’s the Duwamish people were evicted from their ancestral villages, camps, Longhouses and potlatch houses, which were destroyed by arson. “We were never given a reservation, but instead ordered or forced to leave the Seattle area.”

The last Duwamish Longhouse was burned to the ground in 1898. The Seattle Fireboat Duwamish came into service in 1908.

Today, the Duwamish Tribe is headquartered in West Seattle, near the Duwamish River, on land that they now own. Their purchase of land in 2004 is the first time in 170 years that the Duwamish Tribe has legally owned land in the City Of Seattle.

Learn more about the Duwamish Tribe at duwamishtribe.org

This land has a history. What role will you play? realrentduwamish.com.