SUQUAMISH — When 5,000 gallons of oil spread across the Puget Sound and washed up on the shores of the once pristine Doe-Kag-Wats Marsh Dec. 30, 2003, the Suquamish Tribe lost not only a valuable habitat, but a sacred space it had used for healing and worship throughout its history.

More than three years later, it has reached a legal settlement with Foss Maritime for cultural and spiritual damages — $1.1 million — but the money remains the least important part as the tribe struggles to recover from the marring of its land.

“Really the money seems like the big story, but it’s not,” said Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman. “Really, it’s the completion, the closure and the acknowledgment of this event. There’s not enough money to heal this wound. But I think we reached a fair amount considering the conditions.”

While in negotiations with Foss Maritime, the tribe started laying out plans on how it would use the money and decided on a Traditional Community House. The house will serve as a place for celebrations, weddings and community gatherings, said tribal council member Linda Holt, who also served on the executive team that negotiated with Foss Maritime.

“From the very beginning, the tribe as a whole decided to use the money for cultural purposes,” she said. “We feel this is going a long way to help the tribe reestablish its culture.”

The Suquamish Tribe is still in negotiations with Foss Maritime over an environmental impact settlement, and is expecting to receive money to help revitalize the marsh affected by the oil spill, said tribal biologist Tom Ostrom. That settlement could arrive at any time, and Ostrom said they already know what they are going to do with the potential $265,000 that will result from it.

“We have a couple of examples,” he said. “We’d like to enhance the beach with shellfish, clams. Also, we had in the estuary, in the marsh itself, a problem with an invasive plant species, Spartina. It was introduced about 80 to 100 years ago, and it converts the mudflat habitat into a high marsh. We’ve been working on controlling that for years.”

These projects will be on hold until the negotiations have concluded, Ostrom said.

In the meantime, the tribe continues to design its community house, which will help somewhat in closing the rift caused by the oil spill, Forsman said. The Suquamish Foundation has been established to help raise money for the house, which will not be completely covered by the settlement, Holt said. The tribe has also started working with local youth to design some of the artwork displayed in the house once it has been constructed, she said. The community house will be located downtown by the water.

Holt also noted how helpful Foss Maritime representatives were, and how willing they were to work with the tribe.

“I don’t believe this makes up for it,” she said. “That area will never be clean again … I don’t think there’s any money that can compensate for what happened. That’s why we’re saying it’s not about the money. But, it will go toward another project that will do some healing.”