Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Awards Kitsap Regional Library Foundation $100,000 Community Investment Grant

The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe (PGST) has announced the first recipient of the Tribe's Community Investment Grant Program: Kitsap Regional Library Foundation. The Tribe is awarding $100,000 to the Foundation to support Kitsap Regional Library programs. 

"We are profoundly grateful to the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe for their extraordinary generosity and for a partnership that has strengthened Kitsap Regional Library," said Foundation Executive Director Wendy Kile. "This remarkable gift will expand opportunities for literacy, learning, and connection throughout Kitsap County."

This PGST Community Investment grant will support systemwide Library programs, including Summer Learning, To the Library, the development of home libraries for children to support their academic success, and community reading experiences. 

The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal Council hosted an award ceremony in early June, where a check was presented to Library staff and the Foundation team.

"The Library has helped generations of our people. It provides opportunities for children to learn and explore, supports students pursuing higher education, and offers resources that benefit our entire community," said Amber Caldera, Tribal Council Chairwoman. "We are honored to support an institution that has given so much back to our community."

The Library has partnered with the Tribe since 1974, when the Little Boston branch was opened in an A-frame cabin on the reservation with help from a small grant and hours of advocacy and work from community members like Dianna Purser. Dianna, who passed away in 2025, was the mother of former PGST Chairman Jeromy Sullivan and worked tirelessly as an advocate, sharing the history and value of literacy and lifelong learning with her community. The relationship between a public library system and a tribal nation, exemplified in the Little Boston branch, is unique and shared by only a handful of public libraries operating on reservations across the U.S.

"I know that this gift represents more than financial support," said North Kitsap Regional Branch Manager Leigh Ann Winterowd during the ceremony. "[This grant] reflects values that have long been part of the Tribe's leadership: investing in future generations, strengthening community connections, and creating opportunities for people to learn from one another."