About ʔálʔal Café
We are located on the ground floor of Chief Seattle Club's landmark urban housing complex ʔálʔal, a residence for urban Natives to call home, find stability through housing, and connect with our community.
ʔálʔal is Lushootseed for home.
Connection to traditional dishes goes beyond taste and conversations around the dinner table.
Food connects us to our culture; to our Indigenous roots and identity.
The movement to reclaim, reintegrate, & revitalize Indigenous foods is here. ʔálʔal Café is part of that mission, made reality.
Our Values
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Reclaiming Traditional Foods
Colonization and genocide fragmented Indigenous Peoples connection to our homelands and Traditional Foods.
Reclaiming and reintegrating Traditional Foods into one’s life is a meaningful step in healing the wounds of colonization and regaining our sense of self.
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Redistributing Wealth
Economic prosperity has been systematically denied from Indigenous communities.
Through the procurement of goods from Native and Tribally owned businesses, financial resources will be invested into Indigenous communities, allowing Tribes to allocate resources to critical community needs. To name a few: language revitalization, reservation infrastructure, substance abuse recovery, and education.
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Food Sovereignty Empowerment
We hope to define, educate, and empower the Urban Indigenous community on Food Sovereignty frameworks.
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Decolonize the Food Industry
Indigenous Peoples are the past, present, and future stewards of this land. Yet, restaurants, cafés, markets, and grocery stores ignore Indigenous culture.
Increasing Indigenous representation within the food industry will increase the visibility and acceptance of Indigenous foods and culture.
About Chief Seattle Club
Chief Seattle Club provides sacred space to nurture, affirm, and strengthen the spirit of urban Native people. We envision a future where our Native community is safe, healthy, housed, and connected to community that respects and celebrates Native cultures.