“Native Americans Live Here”

That’s what I saw on a handprinted sign next to a small encampment along the mouth of the Duwamish a few weeks ago, near the fishing areas. I’d just biked past the Duwamish Longhouse, which I haven’t visited yet but want to. Now, thanks to a grant announced yesterday, here’s a chance to devote a whole Saturday to the Duwamish River and its people and neighborhoods—PR for the Duwamish River Festival says:

SEATTLE — On Sat., Aug. 27, the 6th Annual Duwamish River Festival will take over Duwamish Waterway Park with live music, free food, cultural performances, and educational activities about the river cleanup. The event will kick off with the arrival of hundreds of walkers, bikers and kayakers in Seattle’s first ever combined Walk/Bike/Paddle event, organized by the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (DRCC/TAG).

The event focuses on the health of the Duwamish River’s diverse communities, and comes on the heels of EPA’s Thursday announcement of a $100,000 grant to improve the health of the Duwamish Valley communities.

The neighborhoods surrounding the Duwamish River are largely low-income, diverse communities burdened with unusually high exposures to air, land and water pollution and health stressors such as lack of access to healthy food and green/open space for physical activity. The area has King County’s highest asthma hospitalization rate and ranks among Seattle’s highest diabetes rates. It is anchored by the lower Duwamish River – listed as a federal Superfund site in need of cleanup because of high levels of toxic pollution in its bottom mud, fish and shellfish. EPA is preparing to release its cleanup plan for the river early next year.

The time is 9 am to 6 pm; all details here. The entertainment? Duwamish and Cuban dancing. Andean folk music. Afro-pop and reggae. Mariachi.