The Bainbridge Island community joined the Parks & Trails Foundation and City of Bainbridge Island in celebrating installation of the new Suquamish Welcome Pole on the Sound to Olympics Trail on Oct. 9.

The 14-foot, old-growth cedar Welcome Pole by carver Randi Purser represents Chief Seattle’s father, Schweabe (an approximation of his traditional name), who was Suquamish. The Thunderbird atop the figure represents the power of his family. As a new father at the time of first European contact, he is depicted with a frog of the new year, representing a family and a people at the cusp of a time of great change.

The pole crests the Winslow Connector section of the Sound to Olympics Trail, just up the hill from Winslow Way and SR 305.

It’s the ideal place for the Welcome Pole, a physical embodiment of a Suquamish land acknowledgment and an invitation for community members and visitors to learn more about the art and culture of our Suquamish friends and neighbors.

The pole complements another carved post, across Puget Sound on the Seattle waterfront, representing Chief Seattle’s mother Scholitza (an approximation), who was Duwamish, holding him as a baby.

The project was a partnership of the Parks & Trails Foundation and City of Bainbridge Island, supported and in celebration with the Suquamish Tribe.

The Parks & Trails Foundation led fundraising to complete the work, with a grant by Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island.

The Foundation approached the Suquamish Tribe about creating interpretive elements along the Sound to Olympics Trail. The Tribal Council encouraged the Foundation to invite Purser to a special commission, which led to the Welcome Pole project.