By Hailey Palmer, Puyallup Tribal News
A blessing was held for the Puyallup Tribe’s new housing project Sept. 4 near the Youth Center on Levee Road.
Heritage Division Manager Connie McCloud delivered the blessing before each member of Tribal Council ceremoniously stuck shovels into the ground.
“This was our traditional homelands – the whole place along these waters,” she said. “Our longhouses were along the waters here and along the sound. And we didn’t live as single-families. We lived together with three, four, five heads of household in one household to make sure everybody was taken care of. … When we lived together in this kind of community, we thrived.”
A total of 45 townhomes and 10 single-family homes will be built on the property, potentially housing hundreds of Tribal Members.
The housing project is the first of Tahoma Construction Services, the Tribe’s construction company, which has future goals to compete for construction jobs outside the Tribe.
“This is the beginning and we’ll have more housing developments,” Puyallup Tribal Council Chairman Bill Sterud said. “We’re going to grow and we’re going to keep growing. … There’s always been an emergency to develop housing for our people. … It’s going to be beautiful.”
Eligibility requirements, waiting lists and policies for the new homes are still in the development phase, but the Tribal Housing Department expects them to be ready for Tribal Council review in the near future.
The Housing Department can be reached at 253-573-7956 or housing@puyalluptribe-nsn.gov.
