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- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Real Estate
The Coquille Indian Tribe will take ownership of the Na-So-Mah Memorial Garden, a quarter-acre site marking an ancestral tribal village in Bandon, Ore., under a land transfer approved by Port of Bandon commissioners Sept. 15.
Established in 2011 through a collaboration involving the tribe, the City of Bandon and Southern Oregon University, the garden honors the site’s history. The tribe, which has leased the property since 2024, expects to receive ownership in mid-October, according to a tribal news release.
“It’s a gift, and the tribe has been great partners with us,” Port Commission President Reg Pullen said in a statement. “
Commissioners discussed transferring the property when the tribe first leased it, Jefferson Public Radio reported. The discovery of tribal graves in 1987 prevented development, leaving the property with little practical use for the port, Pullen told JPR.
Coquille chief Justin Futch said the site provides a place for tribal members to connect with their ancestors and gather. The tribe has no plans for developing the land any further.
“We have a place we can come and mourn, or to say ‘hello,’ or to meditate, gather with each other. Somewhere we can kind of call home” Futch said.
