Historically, this area was used by the tribe for shellfish gathering and beach seining for salmon. The traditional name of the area, Kukutali, means “place of the cattail mat” referring to the temporary shelters made of cattail mats that were used during the summer shellfish and beach seine seasons.
Kiket and Flagstaff Islands were a part of the land reserved by the Swinomish people in 1855 Treaty of Point Elliot. The Dawes Act of 1885 allotted the property to the Clark Chubahud family. Historical documentation indicates that the Chubahuds sold the property in 1928 to a consortium of Skagit County residents who intended to use it for summer recreational purposes. Gene Dunlap, one of the original purchasers and a prominent businessman, came to acquire the sole ownership of the property. In 1952, Dunlap began the construction of a lavish and contemporary home on the southwest end of Kiket Island. The area remained in the Dunlap family for several decades until Seattle City Light and the Snohomish Public Utility District No. 1 purchased the property with the intent of building a nuclear power plant on Flagstaff Island.
After several years of public and tribal dissent stemming from environmental concerns, the plans for the nuclear site were abandoned. In 1982, Seattle City Light sold the Kiket property to Seattle developer, Wallace Opdycke. Although treaty rights guarantee tribal ownership of the beaches up to the mean high water line, during Opdycke’s ownership, all access to the Kiket Island beaches and nearshore areas was assertively denied.
On May 17, 2010, a historic co-management agreement was signed between the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission to jointly acquire Kiket Island (including Flagstaff Point) and the adjacent nine-acre parcel on Fidalgo Island, and to work in partnership to develop, operate, and maintain the islands and associated tidelands as a unit of Deception Pass State Park. Several state and federal grants, Tribal funds, and private donations allowed for the property to be purchased. Scientific research work commenced immediately and lead to the development of the Kukutali Preserve Conservation Management Plan that was in turn adopted in whole into the Kukutali Preserve Master Management Plan.
On June 16, 2014, Kukutali Preserve was officially opened to the public, marking the success of the first four years of a significant and mutually beneficial pact between the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. More importantly it symbolizes a coming of full circle for the Swinomish people, who now have access to traditional lands and tidelands and can, once again, guide the stewardship and protection of Kukutali for future generations.