For over two millennia, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (PGST) have lived on the shores of Port Gamble Bay, where, even today, Tribal members practice their right to fish and harvest shellfish as guaranteed by the Treaty of Point No Point.

Quinn Brein was hired to communicate the need to protect and restore Port Gamble Bay, which is a Usual & Accustomed fishing and harvesting area for the Tribe. The Bay suffered from the operation of a sawmill at the town of Port Gamble for close to 150 years. While the sawmill had closed in 1994, over a decade later, little movement had been made in cleaning the Bay up. In addition to stressing the importance of a cleanup effort, the Tribe wanted to tell the story of its history with the area and how that had influenced its culture. 

To help the Tribe achieve its communication goals, we:

• Brought together the tribal and non-tribal communities to educate on the importance of cleaning up the Bay and protecting it for future generations. This was done early on with a series of public events and town hall meetings. Face-to-face contact was essential as many non-tribal community members knew little about the Tribe’s history or culture and/or, at the time, had a neutral or negative view of putting resources towards conservation.

• Engaged local and regional press to tell the PGST story and the complex relationship they have with Port Gamble Bay and the owners of the town of Port Gamble, where the Tribe once had an ancestral village. Coverage included KUOW, The Seattle Times, Kitsap Sun, High Country News, and Indian Country Today, among others.

• Created and implemented an internal communications plan to ensure all relevant Tribal departments and the Tribal community-at-large were engaged and informed on current developments. This information was also used to advise PGST’s governing body.

• Ongoing outreach to all stakeholders on the Tribe’s positions related to threats to the Bay’s health, including proposals for a marina and commercial/housing developments.

• Engaged with local and state politicians and agencies. This included a day-long retreat to the reservation where state representatives and regional agency directors learned about PGST culture and its connection to the Bay through historical activities such as pulling (rowing) a canoe and a traditional clambake. In 2013, the State budget earmarked $9 million to go towards Port Gamble Bay protection efforts.  

• Helped in the creation of a community coalition to protect the Bay and surrounding lands. This, eventually, became the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project, which is a highly successful, unprecedented partnership between Kitsap County, PGST, the Suquamish Tribe, environmental groups, and community leaders to conserve 1.5 miles of shoreline and 6,000+ acres adjacent to the Bay.

In 2015, after decades of negotiation, the cleanup of Port Gamble Bay began. Our group still actively works with the Tribe, including on messaging related to its relationship with Port Gamble Bay.  These efforts, have not only increased support for local conservation efforts related to the Bay, but have also garnered additional awareness and understanding of treaty rights issues, PGST culture, and the Tribe’s historical importance in Kitsap County.