Kitsap Strong

10/14/2026

Suquamish Youth Council representatives, a Suquamish Tribe Education Administration Department Since Time Immemorial Curriculum Specialist Education Outreach Specialist, and a Suquamish Good Neighbor Editor and Author will help guide a morning of learning, listening, and connection at Reconnecting With Our Village on October 24.

We are especially honored to hear from Suquamish youth leaders on Being a Good Relative before lunch. Their leadership was healing and transformative during this week’s Culture Hour celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and we look forward to their leadership hosting other youth representing their canoe families at Saturday’s Coastal Gathering (flyer also included in this post).

Our morning on October 24 will also explore the Suquamish Tribe’s Since Time Immemorial curriculum and what it means to Be a Good Neighbor.

This is not your typical summit. We are creating an open space for stories, connections inspired by cultural wisdom, meaningful conversations, and relationships across generations.

Join us Saturday, October 24, at the Suquamish House of Awakened Culture.

Come as you are. Bring what only you are able to contribute to the Kitsap Strong Resiliency Summit 2026.

10/13/2026

🎈Would you please join us in wishing Nigel a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today?🎈

Here’s to a beloved countdown tradition to a loving union celebrated out loud.

And happy birthing date to his mother.

We recognize there are many wonderful birthdays to celebrate this month. We are lifting up this one. Meet Kitsap Strong’s Board Treasurer, Nigel Lawrence. We express our deepest gratitude for extending us his business leadership, mentorship, and cultural excellence. Happy Birthday, Nigel.

Indigenous logo artist: Kate Ahvakana

10/13/2026

Guests plan to arrive earlier to sign-in…

Join us during Culture Hour as we celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day on October 13th from 12:10-1:10 in the CKA Commons. This event is open to the public.

10/13/2026

Join us for a Kitsap County Veterans Resource Provider Roundtable & Resource Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 21, in Bremerton!

Connect with local resources, services, and organizations supporting Veterans and their families throughout the community.

Veterans Resource Provider Roundtable:
📅 Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026
⏰ 10 a.m.–11:45 a.m.
💻 Zoom option available: https://loom.ly/ZTWMus8

Following the roundtable, Veterans and their families are invited to attend the Veterans Resource Fair and connect with local organizations, services, and resources.

Veterans Resource Fair:
⏰ 12 p.m.–1:30 p.m.

📍 Bremerton Elks Lodge #1181
4131 Pine Rd. NE, Bremerton

Learn more: https://loom.ly/eWEPWpE

10/13/2026

Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration across generations today!

10/13/2026

Volunteers needed please, training provided: www.kitsapdem.com/2026-sws-trainings/

Community volunteers are needed to support the Severe Weather Shelters in Port Orchard, Silverdale and Kingston this winter. Safe, warm beds are provided when the overnight temperature is expected to fall below freezing, or in response to the forecast of other storm conditions in the winter months.

Training dates:
Kingston - Oct. 13 & Nov. 5
Silverdale - Oct. 15
Port Orchard - Nov. 12

Details at www.kitsapdem.com/2026-sws-trainings/
(Photo courtesy of the Kitsap Sun)

10/12/2026

Building can be a conversation with the land.

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we recognize Johnpaul Jones, an Indigenous architect, artist, and longtime Bainbridge Island resident whose Choctaw and Cherokee heritage has deeply influenced his work.

Here in Kitsap County, his contributions include the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, its newly opened Visitor Center, and the Waypoint Project.

Across Washington state, his work includes City of Seattle DayBreak Star Cultural Arts Center, Woodland Park Zoo, and the Vancouver Land Bridge. Nationally, he contributed to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

A recipient of the National Humanities Medal, Jones is also a painter whose artwork reflects his lifelong appreciation for the natural world.

His work reminds us how art, architecture, cultural knowledge, and our relationships with the land can preserve history, deepen understanding, and connect generations.

We invite you to learn more about his life, creative journey, and contributions:

Johnpaul Jones: Island Treasure Profile https://islandtreasureawards.org/awards/jones-johnpaul/

Johnpaul Jones: The Cultural Landscape Foundation https://www.tclf.org/pioneer/johnpaul-jones

Pictured: Johnpaul Jones at the Visitor Center Grand Opening with Lilly Kitamoto Kodama.
https://bijaema.org/2023/10/19/bijaema-launches-campaign-for-the-visitor-center/

10/12/2026

Kitsap County is home to two sovereign Tribal Nations, the Suquamish Tribe and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, each with its own history, ancestral homelands, language, and treaty rights.

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, let’s honor Suquamish Elder, storyteller, and educator Barbara Lawrence, whose years of dedication helped bring the Suquamish Tribe’s newly developed Since Time Immemorial curriculum to life with the cooperation and contributions of others. https://suquamish.nsn.us/sstic-home/

We invite you to learn more about Barbara through her full biography, shared here.

On October 24th during the Kitsap Strong Resiliency Summit 2026, Barbara has generously agreed to be the morning keynote, giving our broader community an opportunity to learn directly from her about this important work through the Suquamish Tribal Education Administration Department and its significance for our schools, partnerships, and shared future.

Lucy Dafoe, Chief Kitsap Academy Principal and acting Education Division Director, will briefly reflect on the recent release to school districts and introduce Barbara as the first keynote speaker on Saturday, Oct. 24. The event starts at 9:00 AM at the Suquamish House of Awakened Culture for our shared learning experience between non-tribal and tribal communities.

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2026, we cannot express enough how investing in education includes investing in authentic relationships with sovereign Tribal Nations whose knowledge and stewardship help shape our region’s future.

10/12/2026