The Olympian | Squaxin Park event celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day, reflects on Columbus Day
By: Ty Vinson
Hundreds gathered at Squaxin Park on Monday to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with members of the Squaxin Island Tribe and officials from the City of Olympia. The event was kicked off with a prayer in the Lushootseed language from language keeper Sierra Semanko.
“I am praisingly thankful for this day. I am praisingly thankful for this life,” she said. “I am praisingly thankful for my life. I am praisingly thankful for all things. Fix my mind, thoughts, fix my body, fix my spirit, you make them one, and I will be well in this life. So be it. Amen.” Members of the tribe danced and sang before pulling members of the crowd in to join for one last dance all about community and belonging. Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne and Rep. Marilyn Strickland joined the dancing circle, along with other city council members and county commissioners.
Squaxin chairman Kris Peters said it feels good to be indigenous. He said when he’s in a place like Squaxin Park, he likes to take a moment to close his eyes and take a deep breath, and take in the trees, grass, air and water that’s been here for thousands of years. “It has been with us as indigenous people, side by side throughout those years, for centuries,” he said. “We are truly connected, and it’s so meaningful to me, as I stand here with my family, singing and drumming like we have for centuries, carrying on the traditions of our ancestors and carrying on these traditions for the next generation, it makes me emotional.”
He took some time to reflect on the day also being celebrated as Columbus Day, a holiday he said is based on misinformation perpetuated in American school systems and focused on colonialism.
“It was an interesting thing for me, as an indigenous person, learning about Christopher Columbus, the person who discovered America, and then followed by Washington state history and US history, where we talked about Native Americans and me thinking, ‘Wait a second, you just told us that we were discovered, and then we’ve been here for 1000s of years.’ Kind of a confusing statement for indigenous people, children like myself,” he said.
He said he personally chooses not to celebrate colonialism, but instead to celebrate indigeneity.
“I celebrate indigenous people who lived a life in a culture that was vibrant, at one with nature, for thousands of years lived a wonderful life in a society that cultivated growth and strength and education and oneness,” Peters said.
Mayor Dontae Payne said renaming the park from Priest Point Park in 2022 was an important step in acknowledging and honoring the Squaxin Island Tribe’s history and continued stewardship of the waters surrounding Olympia.
He said the park entrance sign was recently redesigned in collaboration with tribal artist Taylor Price. And now there’s a new interpretive sign for the park that was developed in collaboration with the Squaxin Island Tribal council and museum staff, as well as the Olympia Historical Society, Saint. Martin’s University and the city.
“This location is significant,” Payne said. “It was chosen by the late Chris Sego, a beloved member of the Squaxin Island Tribe, whose presence is still felt and who we honor and thank.”
Rep. Strickland said the circle people stood in at the park was emblematic of the tribe’s endurance. She said many a land acknowledgments are too focused on the past, and she wanted to focus on the present and the future of the tribe.
“We are here today to celebrate the strength, the history, the resilience, the cultural legacy and the legacy that will be left in the future of our indigenous communities,” she said. “We have a stark reminder every day, when we leave our homes, that we are standing on the lands that belong to indigenous communities and whatever their name today, we must always remember we are on the land of indigenous communities.”
She said tribal nations have a lot at stake in this year’s elections, and that not all candidates have their best interests in mind. She said there are leaders who respect tribal treaty rights and sovereignty, as well as protecting natural resources.
“So the choice is very stark this year,” she said. “Now I’m not telling you who to vote for, but I am telling you and reminding you that you are smart, thoughtful people, and you know what’s best for indigenous nations, and you know what’s best for the United States of America, because the partnership will endure when we elect and keep electing the people who understand this precious gift that we have inherited and the need to show respect and honor to our tribal treaty nations.”
