Vashon Island High School

Poles (produced by carvers who were not Alaska Native or Native American, using First Nation or Tribal techniques)

Photo above from The Clam Vol 7, No. 4, p 1, VHS Dec. 20, 1978.

News file: The Clam and The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

Thunderbird Totem Pole by Donald Wells Keys (1911-1995), raised in 1976, Western Red Cedar; irreparably damaged by vandals in November of 1997

Carved in the style of the Canadian Kwakiutl First Nation according to Israel Shotridge (Tlingit) master carver. “In a Native village, such a pole would have been used as a crest for the Thunderbird clan.” (Beachcomber, Vol 41, Issue 37, p. 1).
Created in partnership with the Vashon Island High School Key Club and the Vashon Kiwanis.
Significantly damaged by vandals in the fall of 1997.
Unable to repair because it also had a lot of rot according to Shotridge (Beachcomber, Vol 41, Issue 37, p. 1).

About Don Keys, excerpts from History Link (http://www.historylink.org/File/20498)

“Teaching and demonstrating his craft was very important to Keys. He was a staple at arts fairs in Bellevue and Edmonds, demonstrating carving techniques to countless visitors, and a frequent speaker at numerous regional art talks and exhibitions. In the 1970s he worked with Vashon Island High School students in the Kiwanis-sponsored Key Club to build a totem pole for their campus.”

“Don Keys was a prime example of a skilled artist who was strongly influenced by and appreciative of an art style from a culture not his own. Although born in Alaska, Keys was not, nor did he ever claim to be, Native American or Alaskan Native. Looking at the body of his Native-inspired work, a strong case for cultural appropriation could be made. As a white artist, he enjoyed a level of privilege not afforded to Native American artists of his era and capitalized on art forms and traditions not from his own cultural background. While he studied style and technique, was very familiar with traditional stories, and often used traditional tools, Keys adapted both stories and techniques to create his own interpretation of traditional carvings. It is important to note that Keys also worked closely with Native communities on several projects and had a deep respect for Native culture and carving traditions.”

Vashon Island Story Pole under the direction of carvers Alex Joseph (xxxx-xx) and Louis V. Larsen (1924- ) working for Tillicum Village, raised in 1999, Western Red Cedar.

Mark Hewitt (1955- ), former president of Tillicum Village operations, donated the log, organized the project and sponsored the master carvers.
Carved using Northwest Coast Formline Design.
Vashon Island High School Key Club students designed the story pole and the carvers refined the design, keeping the same elements (Beachcomber, Vol 42, Issue 37, p. 1).

About the carvers:

Alexander Joseph--unable to locate information about Mr. Joseph at this time.
Louis V. Larsen has a cedar box at the Burke Museum.

News file regarding the totem poles courtesy of Mike Kirk

- The Clam
- The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

Pole Raising Program, courtesy of Deb Franson

Resources for information about Tillicum Village

- Jones Meyer, C. and Royer, D., eds. Selling the Indian: Commercializing & Appropriating American Indian Cultures. University of Arizona Press, Tuscon, AZ, 2001. (Chapter 2)
- Parrish, S. Authenticity and the Native Cultural Experience at Tillicum Village, Student Anthropologist, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2014.
- Hewitt, Mark. The Story of Tillicum Village: 35 Years of Myth and Magic. Seattle, WA: Tillicum Village and Tours, 1997.

“The story” appeared in the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Vol 42, Issue 37 (Nov 11, 1998) along with a larger piece titled, “Carving a new tradition.”

Beaver

Whale

Salmon and Raven

Flag Display

Located above the main office doors. Between the flags is a Puyallup Tribal language yard sign by Taylor Dean which says "didiʔɫ čəɫ ʔa" meaning "We are still here."

I emailed (12/1/21) Charlotte Basch, Historic Preservation Coordinator, from the Puyallup Tribe Historic Preservation Office to see if she could point me in the direction of finding information about the symbols on the tribal flag. Here is her response,

“This is a great question! I don’t have anything official drafted on this right now, but we are hoping to highlight this as a future Facebook post.

In short, the flag has two major symbols from Puyallup culture—təqʷuʔma [“Taquoma” or Mt. Tacoma instead of "Mt. Rainier"] and Thunderbird. Do you have a copy of Marian Smith’s The Puyallup Nisqually? On page 70 there’s a reference to thunder that gives some insight to the connection between thunder, Thunderbird, and Puyallup. In order to really understand this explanation, though, it’d be good to have familiarity with the concept of powers—spiritual strengths individuals could receive through ceremony and/or individual contributions to community.

“The thunder was a bird…When it opened its mouth, sparks came out and these were lightning or flint. When it dashed through the air, it made thunder. It lived in a crater near Mt. Rainier on the north side of the ridge…The Puyallup were famous for their thunder power and when it thundered other people would say, ‘that is Puyallup power.’”

More simply though, I would share that the two symbols (thunder/Thunderbird and the Mountain) are central to Puyallup identity and culture—both being some of the most powerful and prominent features in the surrounding area, which is easy for non-Native residents today to understand. The Thunderbird made its nest in the Mountain, contributing to the Mountain’s physical and spiritual danger. Puyallup people understood the power of these beings, and as such regarded them both with the highest respect.”

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