Suquamish Incorporation Project’s bid to bring “citihood” to the community is an interesting one indeed, but looks to be facing an uphill march — on a pretty slippery slope, too.
Discussions on the topic were unveiled last week and quickly became the talk of North Kitsap.
Unfortunately, there were more questions than answers as to whether or not incorporation was feasible for such a small community. There still are. But, as Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen quickly gleaned, if anything comes from the subject, it will be a better understanding of what it takes to create and run a government — even a small one.
Members of SIP count among their ranks residents who have long distrusted the Suquamish Tribe. Some on SIP are involved with the Friends of Old Man House State Park’s effort to help the State of Washington retain ownership of the public park. This effort is based on the fact that Friends fear if the state gives the land back to the tribe, the Suquamish can then close the land to the public if it so chooses. While the tribe has asserted that this would not occur and the Friends have asked the group to “join discussions” on the park’s fate, there is still an underlying distrust between the two parties.
Some of this stems from a lawsuit between members of the SIP and Friends and the tribe a few years back.
It is not surprising that the tribe was not in on initial chats when incorporation was presented, such a discussion may have helped the process considerably.
Despite the inherent problems and history behind the SIP proposal, it is still an extremely worthy topic. And, as Endresen said, if anything, it will be a learning process.
This is a positive thing.
Learning always is.
Suquamish residents and those seeking incorporation will be getting a crash course on the issue in the coming months whether the idea flourishes or dies on the vine. Hopefully, the process will work for the community on several levels and get neighbors talking to neighbors about how best to work together to improve Suquamish.
SIP’s meetings on the proposal don’t have to become us vs. them scenarios, whether the “us” is non-tribal vs. the tribe or the community vs. the county. Nobody wants to see that happen.
Members of the SIP are taking on a huge task by even bringing the subject to light. It’s an admirable thing to seek changes for the better.
Even so, we hope the group realizes that until the entire community learns to work together (whether it be on park ownership or incorporation), its residents will continue to tread on the slippery slope between hard work and actual achievement.