NEAH BAY — Tribal members celebrate the Makah Cultural and Research Center’s 25th anniversary this weekend and remember the discovery of a longhouse at Ozette that led to founding the museum a quarter-century ago.
The three-day public celebration starts today and will include free museum admission and tours, a new exhibit opening, artist demonstrations, a community dinner and other events to celebrate the center’s 25th.
All events are free and open to the public.
Makah Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson Jr. said everyone is welcome to celebrate with the tribe during the weekend.
“People should come and see part of our history,” Johnson said. “The community welcomes everyone to celebrate the museum with us.”
Makah Cultural and Research Center Executive Director Janine Bowechop said the museum offers something for everyone — even those who have visited before.
A new, temporary exhibit featuring doll-sized clothing replicas from pre-European settlement to the present opens Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
“The new exhibit takes a look at clothing from pre-contact to the present,” she said.
“There are about a dozen different clothing representations.”
Cedar bark cape
In addition, an authentic cedar bark cape from the 1780s, which has never been displayed before, will be part of the exhibit.
Bowechop said museum tours will be guided by tribal members who will talk about the history of the center and the items that are within it.
The museum, located on the reservation on the road continuing beyond state Highway 112, officially opened June 6, 1979, amid much fanfare and anticipation.
“The museum was designed to tell the story of Ozette,” Bowechop said.
“It shows the incredible treasures that were uncovered during the archaeological excavation at Ozette.”
During the winter of 1970, tidal erosion caused a mass of land to fall off Ozette Island to reveal a village site dating back hundreds of years.
Most of the whaling village, which was covered by a mudslide hundreds of years earlier, had been perfectly preserved.
One of the largest archaeological excavation projects of Native American artifacts followed, and after 11 years of study more than 55,000 items were unearthed and brought to Neah Bay.
Tribal members worked alongside archaeologists to recover items, and relied on Makah elders to help identify artifacts and recount Ozette’s history.
