Hopefully the Friends of Old Man House State Park will accept the Washington State Park Commission’s ruling and not take legal action over the park’s transfer to the Suquamish Tribe. Not doing so would show that members still have faith in their government and much more so, would start a long overdue healing process between neighbors.

This small piece of land, which has tremendous cultural value to the tribe, further infected the scab of mistrust that natives and non-natives in Suquamish had opted to pick at again and again.

Maybe this transfer can serve the deeper purpose of ending this practice.

Hopefully the tribe will live up to its end of the deal and its promise to area residents by keeping the park open to the public and well maintained. Members need to realize that this is one promise they must keep if they truly hope to create a lasting trust within their community.

The commission’s decision is an opportunity. It’s not the end of the road, rather a step forward on a path that has the potential to make a small parcel of land a source of pride for the entire community — instead of another reason to pick sides.