A renaming ceremony at the park once known as Maritime Heritage Park marked a significant cultural moment in downtown Bellingham recently, as the site was formally renamed using the Lummi word Xw'otqwem, pronounced KWOT-kum, meaning "noisy water." The ceremony was organized by Setting Sun Circle, an Indigenous-led nonprofit that is building what it says will be Bellingham's first Indigenous cultural space in the downtown core, with an opening planned for April 2027.
What Setting Sun Circle Is Building
The organization is transforming a century-old building on Holly Street in downtown Bellingham's Downtown Arts District, the former home of Mindport Exhibits, into a 17,000-square-foot immersive storytelling and cultural experience center. Setting Sun Circle is working with local contractor Dawson Construction on the project, which involves merging three separate lots into a single cohesive space and adding a distinctive dome-shaped skylight.
The centerpiece of the visitor experience will be a 50-foot, 180-degree immersive video screen that will display Setting Sun Circle's own documentary films alongside drone footage and other visual representations of Coast Salish homelands and culture. "All of it is meant to just really immerse the audience into our way of life," said Santana Rabang, a Lummi Nation member and researcher and podcast producer with the organization. "I hope it just really opens their hearts and minds that there is a history to this place."
The first major piece of programming in the space will be a production called "Homeland," which Content and Relations Director Natasha Brennan described as "a placemaking story focused on the ancestral lands of Lummi Nation and highlighting the true history and peoples that have been here since Time Immemorial."
What Visitors Will Find
Beyond the immersive screen, the space is designed with multiple uses in mind. Plans include a kitchen with programming around local and regional foodways, a healing garden, podcast and creative production studios, retail space, a contemporary art gallery, space for speakers and performers, and room for community gatherings. The gallery and healing garden will be free and open to the public. Other areas, including events and programs, will be available through tickets or memberships.
Setting Sun Circle plans to offer free visits for school groups, which could make the center an important educational destination for students across Whatcom County, including from Bellingham Public Schools, Ferndale, Lynden, and surrounding districts. Exposing students to Coast Salish history and culture through direct experience is one of the organization's stated goals, particularly for non-Indigenous students who may have limited access to this material through standard curricula.
Setting Sun Circle, which recently rebranded from its former name Children of the Setting Sun, has been telling Coast Salish stories through documentary films, the Young and Indigenous Podcast, and other media for years. The Holly Street space will serve as a permanent production home for those ongoing efforts as well as a physical gathering place. More information about the organization and its work is available through the Setting Sun Circle website.
A Moment of Reclaiming Place
The renaming of Xw'otqwem Park was more than a ceremony. For Setting Sun Circle COO daniseten Michael Vendiola, an enrolled member of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community with Lummi and Visayan ancestry, the construction process itself has carried deep meaning. At one point during demolition, once the flooring was removed, the actual ground beneath the building was visible.
"That's when we started thinking about the serious work we're into, the return to our ancestral homelands, seeing the spaces where our ancestors walked, the actual ground that was uncovered there," Vendiola said. "We're really trying to take this work seriously, and our elders, our spiritual guides, have been telling us to not only do this work but do it carefully."
The renaming ceremony at the park drew a crowd that included both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants, who joined together in a Native American Round Dance led by Setting Sun Circle. The moment reflected the organization's vision for what the cultural center can be: not a space for Indigenous people alone, but a place where Bellingham's broader community can come to learn, listen, and form genuine connections across cultural lines.
Fundraising and Timeline
Setting Sun Circle has raised $14 million for its capital campaign and is working to raise an additional $6 million to complete the project. The April 2027 opening target is dependent on completing construction and fit-out on schedule. The Holly Street building renovation is currently underway with Dawson Construction.
Whatcom County has a significant Indigenous population, centered primarily around the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe, whose ancestral territories encompass the lands on which Bellingham and surrounding communities now sit. A permanent, publicly accessible downtown space dedicated to Coast Salish culture and history has the potential to change how residents and visitors understand the place they live. For related coverage of downtown Bellingham cultural activity, coverage of the Mount Baker Theatre centennial renovation offers a look at another major investment in the city's arts district.
