Treaty Day
1997
Treaty Day, as it is celebrated by Puget Sound Natives today, commemorates the remarkable endurance of religious practices. The Treaty of Point Elliott, signed in 1855, resulted in loss of lands and the right to engage in traditional customs. The oft-quoted speech of si?aA (Chief Seattle), delivered at this time, reminded the newcomers that although Native life was changing, the deep-rooted connections to the ancestors and to the land would not.
Wood, copper, paint
20 x 28 in. (50.8 x 71.1 cm)
Gift of Simon Ottenberg
2009.5.59
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
