Unrecognized is a compassionate and unfiltered examination of the impact the Pacific NW's colonial era continues to have on native lives today — especially the people of the Duwamish Tribe, now deemed "extinct" despite their ongoing and visible presence in the Northwest's largest city. The story of the Duwamish and their struggle for recognition is essential history — not just for Seattle, but for the nation and the many indigenous people whose existence we deny to this day.
BJ Cummings, author, The River that Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the DuwamishThe Duwamish signed the Treaty of Point Elliott (1855) but suffered dislocation from their traditional villages. Using the Federal Acknowledgment Program, the modern tribe has rigorously documented its history. The tribe was finally formally "recognized" in 2001 only to have the decision reversed in 2002. This film deals with the ambiguities, frustrations, and nightmare of a Native American community attempting to secure its place among the nation's 575 "recognized" tribes.
Stephen Dow Beckham, Professor of History, Emeritus, Lewis & Clark CollegeThe film does a good job of laying out the painful complexities of the situation and history, as well as the moral injuries inflicted by the treaty and recognition process. For those trying to understand the Seattle area’s Indigenous communities and history, the film details the struggles the Duwamish still face and the creative ways they keep going.
Knute Berger, Host, Cascade/PBS's Mossback's Northwest, The Mossback Den Newsletter