Chief Si’ahl
I am EXTREMELY pleased to learn about a proposal to build a Northwest Peoples Long House at Seattle Center. This is long overdue!
The coastal heritage of Seattle .. a history we all share from the first NW people .. esp. the amazing roles of Chiefs Seattle and Leschi, ought to be part of how every child from this amazing pl;ace grows up.
Part of that heritage is the continued creativity of coastal art. In contrast, whatever one thinks about Dale Chihuly, Dale’s museum/gallery is at best a narrow effort celebrate one narrow part of our art heritage. city is so much richer for the great heritage we all benefit from NW art … Bill Holm, Mungo Martin, Duane Pasco, Marvin Oliver and so many others offer us and esp. our visitors something wonderful. Even better, this is a living and growing tradition .. as any of us who have visited Mud Bay or the homes of our local people’s know. Just imagine a place where local artists are invited to carve large objects … bentwood boxes, house poles, new art forms!!!!!!!
I would love to see three small steps further …
1. Involve the Burke. The Burke has a great collection that is rarely seen given the museum’s concept of itself as a “PacRim” center with an eclectic, attic like a collection that ranges from Pleiosaurs to Indonesian puppets.
2. Move the now forlorn statue of Chief Seattle to a hillock in Seattle Center. Raising fund to also honor the brave and much wronged Chieg Leschi would be great as well!
3. Seattle Center already hosts wonderful weekend ethnic festivals nand Day Break Star does the same for an annual potlach. Perhaps, we could arrange to have a somewhat greater event to celebrate Leschi Seattle in this new home?