PORT GAMBLE S’KLALLAM TRIBE
Nəxʷq̕íyt (Noo-kayet) Point recreation plan

PACIFIC NORTHWEST design — rESTORATION — COMMUNITY

port gamble, WASHINGTON

The redevelopment of Nəxʷq̕íyt (“Noo-kayet”) Point marks the return of the ancestral village of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe to its native people. Part of a decades-long environmental restoration of Port Gamble Bay, the project transforms a site once dominated by a 19th-century sawmill into a place that celebrates renewal—ecological, cultural, and communal.

Guided by extensive community input, the design balances the site’s layered history with the Tribe’s vision for a space that both honors their heritage and welcomes visitors to learn about S’Klallam culture and the local landscape. Program elements include a welcome area, seasonal gathering spaces for winter and summer use, native gardens and trails developed in collaboration with Heronswood Garden, and a canoe landing beach. Site-specific artworks by local tribal artists further root the project in place.