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Thursday, February 23, 2012

City John T. Williams Totem Will Be Erected at Seattle Center This Sunday

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 10:38 AM

Kelly O

On Sunday, February 26, members of the public are invited to join the friends and family of John T. Williams to help raise the John T. Williams Totem Pole in a traditional First Nations ceremony at the Seattle Center. The pole, carved over a period of months along the waterfront, will honor the memory of the woodcarver, who was fatally shot by Seattle Officer Ian Birk in 2010.

“I, like my brother, am a First Nations carver in the heritage and tradition of my people and my family who have been carving in Seattle since at least 1926," Rick Williams, the brother of John T. and primary totem carver, said in a statement. "We invite all of Seattle to experience the traditional pole raising ceremony and to visit the pole once it is standing. We give the John T. Williams totem pole to the City of Seattle in the hope that it will be a symbol of peace and honor for many generations.”

The traditional pole raising will start at 10:00 am at Pier 57, where members of the public will gather to help carry the 40-foot pole (volunteers still needed—go here for details). The procession will then carry the pole through the city to the Seattle Center, specifically to the area bounded by Broad Street, Thomas Street and 4th and 5th Avenues N (a spot south of the Experience Music Project building and east of the Space Needle). The pole is scheduled to be raised at 1:00 pm and "at 2:00 pm the Program and Celebration of Gifting the Pole to the City of Seattle will commence," according to a press release, including drumming, blessings, singing, and dancing.

Two weeks ago, the John T. Williams totem pole project announced that it was thousands of dollars short of its fundraising goal to pay for, install, and maintain the 40-foot totem pole in honor of Williams, who was fatally shot in August 2010 by a Seattle police officer in downtown Seattle. The group is still accepting tax deductible donations to fund subsequent phases of the project.

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SWEET!

About time something good happened in this city.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on February 23, 2012 at 11:05 AM

Erected is past tense, and yet this about the future. You either forgot to add "to be" in the headline or you're writing this with the help of a time machine. Say hi to Marty McFly for me.

Posted by SPG on February 23, 2012 at 11:07 AM

According to Occupy Seattle's website it looks like the anarchists will be coming to join in the fun by screaming 'fuck the police'.

Posted by Occupy a Fetus on February 23, 2012 at 11:19 AM

I think you mean everyone, @3.

We're all disgusted with them, right about now. Sad, lots of good cops tarred by the actions of a few.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on February 23, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Here's something I've been meaning to do...take a visit to the Duwamish Lodge.

http://www.duwamishtribe.org/longhouse.h…

The history is fascinating...and while many believed that they disappeared, at one point many Duwamish played a vital part in the European built economy in Seattle, but were later forced out.

Still they are present in this society in larger numbers than you would expect.

The people known today as the Duwamish Tribe are the Dkhw’Duw’Absh, "The People of the Inside". We are the people of Chief Seattle. We are the First People of the City of Seattle, Mercer Island, Renton, Bellevue, Tukwila and much of King County, Washington. We have never left our ancestral homeland. We are bringing the strengths of our Native Nation, our culture, our teachings, and our Native values with us into the 21st Century.

The name "Duwamish" is an Anglicization of Dkhw’Duw’Absh. In the Puget Sound Salish language Lushootseed, Dkhw’Duw’Absh means "The People of the Inside". This name refers to Elliott Bay, the Duwamish River, and the other rivers, lakes, and waterways that connect our Dkhw’Duw’Absh ancestral homeland.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on February 23, 2012 at 12:28 PM

I am not disgusted with the police, thank you very much.

Posted by six shooter on February 23, 2012 at 12:29 PM

Isn't this kind of a backward incentive? Shoot a woodcarver, and get a totem pole? Would the next logical step be to shoot a civil engineer in the hope that the South Park Bridge is rebuilt in his/her honor?

Posted by Matt the Engineer on February 23, 2012 at 12:38 PM

Let's hope the cops don't mistake the totem pole for a weapon and start shooting.

Posted by Brandon J. on February 23, 2012 at 12:40 PM

Does anyone know if Ian Birk is still in the Seattle area? I would have moved far away, if i were him.

Posted by jjb.mac on February 23, 2012 at 1:12 PM

Thanks for fixing the headline Cienna. I can now rest easy knowing that you don't have access to a time machine.

Posted by SPG on February 23, 2012 at 1:45 PM

So, can we expect a lot of shit faced natives carrying knives, roaming the streets in celebration? Should we warn the cruise liners?

Posted by John Trouble Smith on February 23, 2012 at 1:54 PM

will there be hot white hipster girls in feather headdresses?

Posted by buck futter on February 24, 2012 at 10:35 AM

I'm going to be there to support the efforts of this family. Whatever human frailty there is in the outcome, the intention was love, honor, dignity and respect. That's all that matters. The politics are irrelevant.

Posted by 1&onlygladyswilliams on February 26, 2012 at 7:21 AM