Who we are
We are the residents, fishermen, tribal members, workers, and recreational users of Seattle’s Duwamish River.
We include Seattle’s most diverse and low-income residents; its environmental and cultural leaders; its concerned citizens; and its Native American, immigrant, and refugee communities.
In partnership with the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, we are calling for a cleanup of our river that protects the health of all of our communities.
Macklemore, Hip Hop Artist
We are Seattle. No bridge, boundaries or invisible man-made lines divide us. This is our home, our people and our community. This is our city’s only river, and I want to do my part to make sure that it’s safe for all that reside here. I stand in solidarity with community leaders and families who have organized for years to right this injustice.
Veronica Quintero, Miss Seafair 2011
You and I can make a difference! It is our also our responsibility as part of the Hispanic community in Seattle to care about the environment and to ensure the well-being of our natural resources, such as the Duwamish River – Seattle’s ONLY river. I urge you to care, to raise awareness, and fight for a comprehensive, health-protective cleanup of the Duwamish River. Today is the day we have to think about tomorrow -for our families and our future generations. The Duwamish is my River!
Peter Quenguyen, South Park Resident
I love the Duwamish River. It looks like the river in my home town in Vietnam, where the water is clear and there are ideal docks for fishing. Our Vietnamese friends from all over Seattle come to the parks on the river to play and enjoy fresh air. I wish that some day, the banks of the river will be green and the water will be clean. On that day I will call out :”Yes, the Duwamish is my river, and South Park really is my home town!”
Denis Hayes, The Bullitt Foundation, Earth Day Founder
Cleaning up the Duwamish is essential to the recovery of Puget Sound. As long as toxic pollution keeps leaching into the Sound, marine resources – from oysters to orcas – won’t fully recover. The Duwamish is Seattle’s estuary. We ought to treasure it, like New York treasures the Hudson. And we need to restore it to health.
Chris Wilke, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance
The Duwamish is my river. I have spent many a day cleaning debris from its shores, sharing its wonders with our community and fighting for its protection. If we were most anywhere else, THIS would be our waterfront. But for the Sound and the lakes, we forget: the Duwamish River is the lifeblood of Seattle. Salmon and people, eagles and osprey, seals and sea lions. It must be protected.
Environmental Professionals of Color, Seattle Chapter
The Duwamish River is a lifeline, representing change, survival, and community. Seattle’s chapter of Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC) live and work within the Duwamish watershed. We want a clean-up that includes all of Seattle’s beautiful and diverse communities. We depend on this river for food, work, and connection to nature. We deserve a clean up plan that will serve our communities for generations to come.
Yale Wong, Chairman & Founder, General Biodiesel
The most important things to sustain life are sunlight, atmosphere, oxygen, gravity and water. If all of us start thinking unselfishly, without the distraction of doing things for money, we’ll all be better off. If we take away any of these, including clean water, the money we save won’t matter – we’ll start slowly dying. Think now for the future.
Cecile Hansen, Duwamish Tribe
The Duwamish Tribe are the “People of the Inside,” or the people of the river. The Duwamish Tribe is forever connected to the river – it is who we have been for thousands of years. We cannot change who we are……we are still here today!
John Persak, Longshoreman
I earn my living close to home, and the river is a central part of this—my home and my job. Along with my brothers and sisters on the waterfront, my health depends on a clean and safe place to work, which means we have to take care of river and the spaces around it. My family’s and next generation’s future depends upon preserving our common cultural and economic place that is the Duwamish.
Bruise Lee (aka Jenn Ross), Rat City Rollergirl
I live in South Park, bought my first home here, raised my son here. The river is hugely important to this area. I care about what I eat. I grow food in my yard and I eat salmon from the river, like my neighbors do. And all of us derby girls agree – we don’t want 3 eyed fish!
Matt Lincecum, Fremont Brewing Co & Manny Chao, Georgetown Brewery
Clean water is the lifeblood of the craft beer industry and the Duwamish River is a seminal waterway for Seattle’s economy and a vital pathway for salmon migration. Georgetown Brewing and Fremont Brewing demand excellence from our water and from our beer. We demand no less for our city’s only river. We stand together for the restoration of the Duwamish River.
Because The Duwamish River Matters. – ML
No River, No Water, No Beer. – MC
Preston Singletary, Glass Artist, Musician
The Northwest is known for it’s natural beauty and many ways of enjoying the outdoors. I have lived here my whole life and remember the river as an industrial waste dump. The Duwamish River is an important and sacred area for the Duwamish people – I’m glad there is finally interest in cleaning it up. This cleanup is important to show that humans can correct the damage they have done to our natural environment.
Peter Steinbrueck, Architect, Former city council member
The Duwamish—Seattle’s only river fascinates me. From fish runs and canoe passages to river barges and freight, the gentle river has served human settlement in so many ways and for so long. It’s time now to return the good river to good health!
Paulina Lopez, South Park Resident
The Duwamish River is important to me because it is my river. As a South Park resident it is important to me to live and work in a healthy and safe place that my family can fully enjoy. I want to feel proud of my city, knowing that we care for the people, the environment, and the diverse wildlife that makes the Duwamish community special. My dream is to leave my children a beautiful, clean river where it is safe for everyone to swim, to fish, to work, and to play.
Karen Matsumoto, Teacher, Naturalist, Filmmaker
As a naturalist, the Duwamish represents HOME—to river otters, seals, birds, fish and invertebrates. I love to watch wildlife returning to the river as habitats are restored. As we clean up the river we need to extend our concern to our greatest resources – our children and their families, who live, work, and play on the river. With a strong cleanup, the Duwamish River can become a thriving habitat for wildlife and for people.