For thousands of years, the S’Klallam people have harvested traditional wild resources for a variety of purposes from commercial to subsistence. Even hundreds of years ago, they were harvesting clams for purposes of trading with other tribes. While in many ways, the technologies used have changed over time—5-gallon buckets replacing cedar baskets, fishing vessels replacing traditional watercraft—the essential values of harvesting and sharing remain an essential part of the cultural underpinning of the S’Klallam community.
The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s treaty rights, as established with the signing of the Treaty of Point No Point, play a significant role in the day-to-day life of most tribal members. Like their ancestors before them, they practice the traditional ways to put food on the table by fishing or harvesting shellfish.