Title
Approval of a Resolution Approving a Change of Name for Priest Point Park to Squaxin Park in Recognition of the Squaxin Island Tribe's Historical Habitation Of
Olympia's Environs
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Move to accept the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) recommendation to approve the Resolution to officially rename Priest Point Park at 2600 East Bay Drive NE as "Squaxin Park."
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve PRAC's recommendation to approve the Resolution to officially rename Priest Point Park at 2600 East Bay Drive NE as "Squaxin Park."
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve a Resolution to officially rename Priest Point Park at 2600 East Bay Drive NE as "Squaxin Park."
Staff Contact:
Sylvana Niehuser, Director of Parks Planning and Maintenance, Parks, Arts and Recreation, 360.753.8068
Presenter(s):
Sylvana Niehuser, Director of Parks Planning and Maintenance, Parks, Arts and Recreation
Charlene Krise, Squaxin Island Tribal Council Vice Chair
Background and Analysis:
The Squaxin Island Tribe's habitation of what is now Olympia spans thousands of years. The ancestral families who lived and thrived here named the area Steh-Chass and occupied prosperous villages all along the shores and inlets of lower Puget Sound. Archeological findings of ancestral artifacts in the area suggest habitation by Squaxin ancestors since the retreat of the glaciers during the last Ice Age.
Squaxin Island history also indicates that the Tribe valued the area that is now Priest Point Park for ready access to fresh and salt water, the abundant salmon from the creeks, and rich clam beds. The Tribe frequented the shorelines and woods to gather, meet, and trade with other Tribes and Coast Salish peoples from the many inlets and waterways of Puget Sound. The Tribe's concern for stewardship of the park's natural and cultural resources continues today.
Despite its importance to the Squaxin Island Tribe for thousands of years, Pri...
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