From the Shoalwater to the Hoh
From the Shoalwater to the Hoh
A Seattle mural project listing the tribes of Washington State
It gets no simpler than this: a block of whitewashed plywood and red paint spelling out the names of the federally recognized Native American tribes of Washington State.1 In honor of Indigenous People’s Day — which is recognized as a govenmental holiday here in King County, Washington — I thought I’d share this pretty cool project.
For years a block near my studio has been a gaping hole in the ground, a developer’s unfinished investment. The square-block of plywood fencing surrounding the hole has been variously covered by a hodgepodge of muralists, grafitti artists, and taggers.
One day this summer, I noticed the plywood had been whitewashed. I blinked, and a few days later it was suddenly covered with the tribal names.
The group responsible for the projtect— ARTXIV — has been dropping bold murals of a political nature in the neighborhood for years. I intend to share more of their projects one day.
But for now, on our country’s third official Indigenous People’s Day2, let me share this3:
Shoalwater — Sauk-Suiattle — Samish — Quinault — Quileute — Puyallup —Nooksack — Nisqually — Muckleshoot — Makah — Lummi — Kalispel — Klallam — Duwamish — Cowlitz — Colville — Chehalish — Yakima — Skagit — Tulalip — Swinomish — Suquamish — Skokomish — Squaxin — Spokane — Snoqualmie — Stillaguamish — Hoh
What Do Paid Subscriber’s Get?
A free print and more! Check out my Substack’s No Shenanigan’s Gallery for the details.
Why Am I Offering a Free Print to Paid Subscribers?
I want to reach across the virtual divide that separates us and offer something tangible, something meaningful to me that I’ve created with my own hands and that you can hold with yours. It’s old-school, I get it. And it costs me a little bit to do this, but your support means means everything to me. so let’s give this a try.
There are actually 29 federally recognized Washington State tribes, but only 27 names spelled out. The mural seems to have combined three of them — the Port Gamble S’Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, and Jamestown S’Klallam tribes — into a single name — Klallam. This would account for the difference.
In 2022, President Biden signed the declaration that created the holiday.
This image was compiled from the individual photos I took of each panel.
I love the continuous ribbon of shots. I think that design is great.
Nice! I found the juxtaposed photos of murals and names a little head spinning at first but after settling into a viewing rhythm decided it works well to hold my attention and perhaps stay in my memories awhile. Somewhat like a chant?