Tillicum Village

The Pacific Northwest was once home to a dense population of native peoples. Today, the ancestors of these first Americans remain in the area, including (in exhaustively) the Duwamish, Salish, Chinook, Nez Perce, Yakima, Saanich, Puyallup, Nisqually, Quileute, Sammamish and Tulalip.

Tillicum Village, located on the 475 acre state park at Blake Island State Park, purports to celebrate the heritage of these native peoples. A slightly expensive day trip ($79.95 for adults, $30 for children), operated by Argosy Cruises, includes a 45 minute cruise to the island, a buffet meal and a show.

The cruise itself is beautiful. The 45 minute trip leaves from Pier 55 and gives you amazing water views and spectacular mountain vistas—weather permitting. The island is also beautiful, a wild lowland forest surrounded by saltwater beaches. It’s a good thing you are allowed approximately 45 minutes to wander the island before departing, or you may feel like you didn’t actually get to see anything truly native. At least a hike on the trails can give you an inkling of what the native peoples here enjoyed before Seattle’s rapid development after the Klondike gold rush.

It’s not that the Tillicum Village Northwest Coast Indian Cultural Center and Restaurant is a bad experience—it just smacks, as you may suspect, of whitewashing and commercialization. When you arrive, you are greeted with clam appetizers—a traditional food—and can watch your main course, a whole salmon, prepared as it had been by many of the local tribes: lashed to a cedar stake and grilled over an alderwood fire. The rest of the meal is served buffet style, and while it tries to amp up the Pacific Northwest “thang,” it does have to pander down to the varied tastes of guests—which equals good quality--but a bit bland (if not in flavor, than in variety). But, all in all, it’s fine.

The show that follows, a carefully choreographed and homogenized series called “Dance on the Wind" is a fine, vague introduction to the culture of the Northwest.  Again, it’s highly simplified for easy consumption, but presented as if it were comprehensive. Again, fine. Not amazing, but fine.

After the show is when you are allowed free time. Gift shopping is, of course, encouraged, but save your money and take some landscape photos of the pristine parkland.

HelloSeattle Tip: If you are interested in native cultures and want a safe, fun, well-orchestrated experience, Tillicum is worth a look. Argosy does a fine job managing the place and staffing it with friendly folks. But if you want to go deeper into the history of the local native peoples, I’d save $60 on the ticket and spend a good day at the Burke Museum instead.

- by Caren Gussoff Sumption, Seattle Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Caren Gussoff Sumption

Caren Gussoff Sumption is a freelance writer and editor from Seattle, WA. She's written for USA Today, the Seattle Times/NW Source, MSN and AOL, and her fiction has been published worldwide. She received her MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.