Whether it means gathering in a ceremonial longhouse or at a AAA Four Diamond casino resort, Native American culture is a big and growing part of what meeting groups can experience in the Evergreen State. With a rich and varied heritage extending from the Coast Salish tribes of Puget Sound to the Plateau tribes of Eastern Washington, the state offers a variety of ways to explore the traditions of its first people.
Sophisticated new casino resorts are blending state-of-the-art meeting facilities with the chance to learn about Native American approaches to wellness, cuisine and the arts. Local museums and cultural attractions offer historical perspective as well as works and insights by contemporary artists, photographers and cultural interpreters.
RESORTS
Tulalip Resort Casino
Entering the Tulalip Resort Casino, which opened two years ago 30 miles north of Seattle, visitors encounter three massive totem poles in the lobby, designed and carved from red cedar wood by members of the Tulalip Tribes. Throughout the hotel, everything from the carpeting patterned after traditional woven basket designs to the metal fish sculpture adorning the ceiling in the main prefunction area reflects the art and culture of the Coast Salish people of Puget Sound.
"The hotel was really built to showcase the Salish style of art—all of it produced by Tulalip Tribes members—and it’s something we emphasize during site inspections," says Troy Longwith, director of sales for the 370-room luxury property set on 83 acres within the Tulalip Indian Reservation. "What surprises many people is how well the art complements the clean, contemporary lines of the resort."
While Tulalip has all the amenities expected of a AAA Four Diamond resort, including 30,000 square feet of meeting space and a full-service spa, Longwith says the property’s cultural elements provide something unique.
"When planners visit the property, there’s a real element of surprise and they realize that their attendees can take away something different, something they can’t get from a downtown property," he says.
Attendees can literally get a taste of Tulalip culture by dining in Blackfish, a seafood restaurant that showcases Coast Salish cooking styles. The signature dish is wild salmon grilled on ironwood sticks over an open flame. This and other dishes can be incorporated into banquet menus.
Promising to carry the cultural experience a step further, the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve will open in October on a 50-acre site a few miles from the resort. The center will provide interactive exhibits on Tulalip history and culture, a gift shop and other amenities.
"We will be able to take groups over there for receptions, which can include the chance to observe artists doing carving and weaving," Longwith says. "We’ll be able to have outdoor events there, too."
Northern Quest Resort & Casino
Making its debut last December just outside of Spokane, Northern Quest is a contemporary 250-room resort with sophisticated technology features that allow digital check-in, bandwidth in every room and customized guest information delivered to in-room televisions. At the same time, guests experience the influence of its owners, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, throughout the resort.
At Masselow’s Restaurant, guests are greeted in Salish, the language of the Kalispels. Current Spa & Salon features Native American-inspired treatments and a unique lighted ceiling with the image of a river—an important resource to the Kalispels—projected onto it.
Meeting space at Northern Quest totals 22,000 square feet, including an 11,000-square-foot ballroom. Other features are an events venue presenting headliner entertainment and 14 restaurants, bars, lounges and nightclubs.
ATTRACTIONS
Tillicum Village
Located just eight miles from the central Seattle waterfront in Blake Island State Park, Tillicum Village is the centerpiece of a wooded island believed to be the birthplace of Chief Seattle. Following a 50-minute boat ride on Argosy Cruises, passengers disembark to find a pathway strewn with white clam shells and are greeted with an appetizer of steaming clams in nectar broth.
Inside a traditional longhouse, whole Chinook salmon are prepared over an alder wood fire on cedar stakes. Following a buffet dinner that includes the salmon, spectators are treated to a performance by the Tillicum Village dancers.
"If you want a Native American experience, Tillicum Village is hard to beat," says Terry Quick, president of ENTCO, a Seattle-based DMC. "You see Native Americans cooking the salmon in the way they have done for centuries. Afterward, there is a very well-produced show that talks about their legends, spirits and costuming."
Quick notes that Tillicum Village, which offers a variety of event spaces for groups as large as 1,000, was the site of the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting in 1993, which was attended by President Clinton and other world leaders.
"The island was secured for the meeting—it’s an ideal spot for groups," he says.
Washington State History Museum
In Tacoma, the Washington State History Museum offers exhibits drawn from the Washington Historical Society’s large collection of Native American art and artifacts. It’s also a stunning and versatile venue for special events, with spaces that include the Grand Lobby for gala receptions for up to 300 guests, a 215-seat theater with adjoining prefunction space, a flexible mezzanine area above the Grand Lobby, special exhibit areas and a boardroom with a giant arched window and sweeping views of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.
"We hold everything from casual cocktail receptions to intensive business meetings here," says museum spokeswoman Kimberly Adams, adding that access to the museum galleries is included with the rental of event space.
Among the museum’s permanent fixtures in the Great Hall of Washington History is a meticulously replicated Plank House, a traditional Salish cedar wood dwelling. Every year from June through mid-September, the museum displays juried works from local Native American artists in an exhibit called In the Spirit, and on summer weekends, it is also the site of the Northwest Native Arts Market & Festival.
Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center
Located in central Washington about 18 miles south of Yakima, the Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center features one of the oldest Native American museums in the U.S., the Yakama Nation Museum. Dedicated to the 14 Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, whose ancestral lands stretch from the Columbia River lowlands to the Cascade Mountains, the museum galleries display dioramas, historic photographs and life-size replicas of traditional dwellings.
Modeled after a traditional dwelling and built with a soaring 76-foot ceiling, Winterlodge is the heritage center’s primary function area, accommodating 300 people seated for a banquet and 400 theater style. Another space, the 14 Tribes Room, is designed for groups of 75 or less. The complex also offers extensive outdoor event space and the Heritage Inn Restaurant, which serves fry bread and traditional dishes featuring buffalo, salmon, huckleberries and other local ingredients.
Burke Museum
Located in Seattle on the University of Washington campus, the Burke Museum is renowned for its comprehensive collections of Native American art and artifacts representing cultures stretching from Latin America to the Arctic. Changing exhibits at the museum explore the significance and artistry of items that include totem poles, baskets, jewelry, blankets, paintings, robes, cradle boards, masks and much more.
Burke Museum offers various event spaces that can include access to both permanent and special exhibits. The entire museum accommodates groups of up to 350 people, while groups of up to 100 can rent the lower floor and adjoining cafe. The Burke Room, which sports a 125 million-year-old ichthyosaur fossil skeleton, holds up to 50 people.
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
Spokane’s Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, which acquired the collections of the Museum of Native American Culture in 1989, has a wide range of artifacts pertaining to cultures throughout the Americas, but particularly to the Northern Plateau Tribes of Eastern Washington and Idaho. The collection includes over 10,000 historic photographic images of Plateau culture, some of which are the focus of a current exhibit called Gathering to Sing and Dance, featuring photographs from traditional summer celebrations that take place in the region.
While not available for events, the Museum of Northwest Arts and Culture hosts group tours spotlighting its collections.
