The Suquamish Tribe dedicated the renovated Chief Seattle’s grave recently with a ceremony. Newly carved cedar story poles replaced the dilapidated canoe that was elevated above the grave for 35 years. The original marble headstone that was laid at the grave in 1890 still remains. Squaxin Island Tribe artists Andrea Wilbur-Sigo and Steve Sigo carved the poles.
A set of photos from the ceremony can be viewed at the North Kitsap Herald. as well as the story.
A description of the new story poles, from the Kitsap Sun:
The story poles, in black and rust paint and natural cedar, show the 600-foot-long Old Man House built by Chief Seattle’s father in the mid-1770s. Above that is Chief Seattle as a boy, standing in front of sails. It depicts his sighting in 1792, at about the age of 6, of Capt. George Vancouver’s ships that were exploring Puget Sound. The left story pole shows Chief Seattle as a warrior, for his tactics in heading off raids by other Indian groups, and as an older man who gave a famous speech in 1855. He died on June 7, 1866, at Old Man House in Suquamish and was buried in the Suquamish Tribal Cemetery. The cross-topped marble headstone that remains today was placed on the grave in 1890.
The concrete work of the renovation gives it a permanence, said Leonard Forsman, the tribal chairman. A new path also makes it accessible to the disabled.
