The community is invited to dedication of the new Suquamish Welcome Pole on Bainbridge Island’s Sound to Olympics Trail, 3 p.m. Oct. 9.
This unique cultural work by Suquamish carver Randi Purser is being gifted from the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation to the City of Bainbridge Island. The pole was funded by community donations to the Parks & Trails Foundation, including a grant from Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island. The City of Bainbridge Island partnered to manage and fund Installation on the STO Trail through the Public Art Fund.
Representing Chief Seattle’s father, the Welcome Pole will inspire all to learn about the rich culture of our Tribal neighbors and acknowledge that Bainbridge Island is the ancestral land of the Suquamish people.
Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman and carver Randi Purser will be honored guests at the dedication, with a reception to follow at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.
“We’re honored and moved to bring Randy Purser’s beautiful carving to our community, with support from and in celebration with the Suquamish Tribe,” says Mary Meier, Parks & Trails Foundation executive director. “The Welcome Pole is an important contribution to meaningful placemaking and understanding on our island and the Sound to Olympics Trail.”
“The City is proud to support the installation of this magnificent, permanent landmark artwork,” said City of Bainbridge Island Mayor, Joe Deets. “As travelers make their way along the Sound to Olympics Trail, this pole stands as a powerful invitation to pause, honor, and reflect on the ancestral lands of the Suquamish people. This project deeply aligns with the City’s long-term vision for public art that celebrates our heritage and the natural beauty of Bainbridge Island.”
The pole is being installed on the Winslow Connector section of the Sound to Olympics Trail, just up the hill from Winslow Way and SR 305.
The STO gateway is 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 Welcome Pole
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 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.
About the artist
Randi Purser is an elder of the Suquamish Tribe. She carries forward the traditional disciplines and regional forms of Native carving, under the mentorship of the late Duane Pasco.
The Parks & Trails 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.
About the Sound to Olympic Trail
The STO Trail will link Bainbridge Island with the Suquamish communities and connect the Olympic Peninsula with the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal. It is a local link in the national Great American Rail trail, a planned contiguous trail route stretching from Maryland west across the nation, across Washington and Bainbridge Island, across the Kitsap Peninsula to the Olympic Discovery Trail, and all the way to the shores of the Pacific.