More than 9,000 visitors trooped through Suquamish for Tribal Journeys events last week, but they left a surpisingly small footprint.

As host tribe for the 20th anniversary of canoe journeys – which bring together tribes from across the region for weeks of paddling, spiritual ceremonies and cultural celebration – a goal for Suquamish was to promote a waste-free event.

The effort was a success, judging by the numbers.

After serving about 70,000 meals, the tribe shipped off 4.5 tons of food waste to be composted. Another 4 tons (50 cubic yards) of recycling was collected. To help cut down on refuse, the tribe handed out thousands of reusable water bottles along with sturdy tote bags.

This year’s Tribal Journeys had tribes paddling in from as far north as British Columbia and far south as Oregon. Eighty six canoes descended on Suquamish on Aug. 3 and events continued all week.

Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman said Suquamish can be proud of the way it hosted. the journey

“We feel like we made a significant contribution to Tribal Journeys as an institution with the things we tried to do here,” Forsman said. “It validated our tradition of being a good hosting tribe.”

The recycling program relied on the work of dozens of volunteers and partnership with organizations outside the tribe, including Emu Topsoil and Bainbridge Disposal. Forsman said future hosting tribes will need a lot of support to duplicate the effort.

“I hope it will be carried on,” Forsman said. “We’ll see. It was a lot of work and it depends a lot on the community.”

Beyond waste management, Tribal Journeys took a monumental coordination effort, from finding campsites for canoe journey campers to managing the stampede of visitors.

A total of 625 volunteers powered the events. Tribal police and youth services organized basketball and flag football games for kids that drew 500 participants.

Despite the tribe’s efforts to minimize the impact for locals, some turbulence was unavoidable.

Suquamish Way was closed through downtown and parking was sequestered outside of town. A parade of busses shuttled visitors in from points along State Route 305 and Little Boston.

Most businesses stayed open for the week, and several reported record sales Monday, during the height of the journey events.

At her art gallery near the waterfront, Rainey Hawk said sales strong during the week, especially for craft supplies, such as beads, furs and feathers.

“They definitely fed us well,” she said of the Tribal Journeys hosts.

Bella Luna owner Bob Rowden said business was somewhat underwhelming at his restaurant.

“I have 150 pounds of sausage in the freezer still,” Rowden said. “There was more business than usual, but it wasn’t what they said it would be.”

Just up the hill, Troller’s Bar and Grill closed early during the journey week out of respect for the spiritual ceremonies. Troller’s was busy and the mood was light throughout the week manager Jason Hill said. A lack of parking near town was the main frustration he heard.

“It was a cool experience but it did have an impact,” Hill said.

“Business-wise, we were just here to support what was going on.”

Forsman said the tribe did the best it could to give businesses time to prepare.

“We appreciated their willingness to work with us,” Forsman said.

It’s Forsman’s hope that the Journey’s most lasting impact will be cultural.

Over the last six years, the tribe has been rekindling its culture through a series of projects.

The Marion Forsman-Boushie Early Learning Center has been in use for nearly two years and a rebuilt Suquamish dock played a pivotal role in this year’s journey. Earlier this year the tribe opened the House of Awakened Culture, a spacious gathering hall that embodies a history of cooperative living.

The projects will continue with an ongoing renovation of Chief Seattle’s gravesite and the construction of a new museum.

Tribal Journeys gave the Suquamish an opportunity to share their cultural rebirth with tribes from across the northwest.

Seeing the House of Awakened Culture overflowing with canoe families for the opening ceremonies Aug. 4 was a poignant moment for Forsman.

“It was a very powerful, uplifting, and a proud moment for me,” Forsman said. “There was a strong connection to what Suquamish was like 500 years ago.”