Jeanette Armstrong – Renaming Mt. Rainier

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Renaming Mt. Rainier | References

Ti'Swaq, also called Mt. Rainier, surrounded by trees and green grass.
Ti’Swaq’

One of Washington’s most well-known landmarks is Mt. Rainier, named after Peter Rainier, a friend of the colonizer George Vancouver. In fact, the volcano is so loved that the University of Washington designed portions of its campus, the Rainier Vista, to ensure the perfect view of it.

Long before Vancouver ever laid eyes on Mt. Rainier, multiple Pacific Northwest Indigenous tribes gathered at, explored and built a relationship with the volcano. This relationship dates back to at least 5,000 BCE; while only a minuscule portion of Mt. Rainier’s area has been covered by archeologists, over 75 prehistoric sites and items have been discovered. While no singular tribe necessarily lived on the volcano, there is a multitude of tribes that visited and cherished Mt. Rainier–originally known as a variety of names, including Tahoma, Tacoma, Pooskaus, Tacobeh, or Ti’Swaq’. Puyallup activist Robert Satiacum has been fighting to get Mt. Rainier renamed to this last name, Ti’Swaq’, which translates into “the sky wiper,” or “it touches the sky.” The multitude of names reflects the multitude of languages, people, and culture that blossomed around Ti’Swaq’. “Mt. Rainier” erases the presence of the local Indigenous People and the history that they share with the volcano, and instead dishonors Ti’Swaq’ by naming it after a colonizing figure that never saw it. This incorrect name promotes a colonizing agenda that has worked for centuries to destroy Indigenous culture, heritage, and belonging to the land.

In the Syilx Nation, traditional land and water connections are embedded in their identities and local dialects. Members are raised to value the collaboration of individuals in skilled work, along with the consistent presence and respect that the Earth holds while completing their duties. As such, naming practices of landmarks are vital to Cpcaptikwlh (story-telling) because these titles encompass all of the historical, geographical, science, and cultural knowledge of the Syilx Nation. Through this, Jeanette Armstrong’s model of eco-literacy, the healthy relationship between Indigenous people and the community, land, and water, is restored. Likewise, reestablishing traditional names rejects economic colonial practices of land-ownership and exploitation. Therefore, by reestablishing Mt. Rainier to its true name, Ti’Swaq’, Armstrong’s teachings suggest that the abuses of power and miscommunication from colonizers would be reduced. This would restore Indigenous land memories, local dialects, and traditional land and water use. 

In the Syilx (Nsyilxcən) language, all words and phrases have been shaped by the traditional land and water connections. Tmxʷulaxʷ (land), is a symbolic term that provides a framework to interpret the oral traditions, education, and traditional frameworks and values that govern them. Thus, also serving as the foundation for Jeanette Armstrong’s core beliefs and teachings. Similarly to the Puyallup people’s commitment to restoring Mt. Rainier to Ti’Swaq’, the Syilx Nation demanded unceded landmarks to include their traditional Indigenous names alongside their English titles. 

Naramata, currently home to numerous Canadian vineyards, was originally known as citxʷs paqəlqyn or “House of the Bald Eagle”. In 2018, the Naramata Park Naming Project, after commissioning a public poll, modified all city landmark signs to include its true name, citxʷs paqəlqyn. This momentous achievement serves as a permanent acknowledgment of the colonial assimilation practices used against Indigenous peoples and their land and waterways. Moreover, with the inclusion of the Syilx (Nsyilxcən) title, Syilx people are able to reform land-based connections and begin the reconciliation process of regaining their lost language.

Another significant achievement for the Syilx Nation was permanently erecting their nation’s flag at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in September 2018. Flown alongside the Canadian flag, British Columbia flag, and the UBC flag, the Syilx Nation flag represents the University’s acknowledgment of their position on unceded traditional land and waterways.  This event took place in 2018, while students, faculty members, and Syilx members witnessed. Jeanette Armstrong, as both a Syilx Member and professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, spoke from a unique perspective about combining western education with traditional teachings of the land and Syilx culture. With four of her students, they raised the flag and sung “We Are Beautiful”. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, the Okanagan Nation Alliance Chairman, regarded this event as recognition of their distinct position as students and staff at the university. Presidents of the UBC was proud of having more diversity on the campus by creating tribal nation flags. Also, by having a stronger Syilx presence on campus, students who are unfamiliar with Indigenous Studies will be able to learn about colonialism and their ongoing effects through Syilx teachers, such as Armstrong. Moving forward, there will be more classes and projects about the Syilx culture offered in the Indigenous Studies program. This relates to the renaming of Mt. Rainier because the Okanagan gained recognition and partnership from the University of British Columbia.

The assimilation practices in Canada and the United States of America sought to eliminate the Indigenous peoples’ identity, by claiming ownership of the traditional lands and waters that held their languages, cultures, and traditional frameworks and values. The reclaiming of Naramata and UBCO serve as examples that reinstating traditional place-making would allow for the revitalization of Indigenous cultures. Therefore, through the understanding of Jeanette Armstrong’s eco-literacy philosophy, Mt. Rainier should be renamed to Ti’Swaq’ to properly honor the Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples and begin the healing process.

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Billy Frank Jr. – Leadership Qualities

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Fishing Rights in AlaskaReferences

Passionate

Billy Frank Jr. devoted all his energy into a career of protecting fishing rights of the Nisqually tribe because he was passionate about preserving the traditions of his people. He chaired the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) for the majority of the final 30 years of his life. NWIFC, formed to aid the tribes in fisheries management responsibilities, served 20 Western Washington treaty tribes with a central office in Olympia and satellite offices in Mt. Vernon and Forks, Washington. Its staff included fishery and shellfish biologists, biometricians, habitat analysts and managers, fishery geneticists, and much more. It covered all of Puget Sound as well as coastal locations.

Billy Frank Jr. was involved in the Nisqually Tribe’s work to restore the Nisqually River Delta. Because the federal government is responsible for managing the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, the tribe had to work in conjunction with the federal government to remove the dike system that held back seawater. With the help of Billy Frank Jr.’s passionate leadership, the tribe successfully restored 140 acres of its own land.  This 140 acres combined with more than 700 acres of land in the federal wildlife refuge, from which dikes were removed in 2009. Because of the dike removal, the wildlife refuge became a prime habitat for endangered salmon.

Bill Frank was often the voice of the commission to the public. Newspapers quoted him repeatedly in articles on fisheries issues in the Northwest. He wrote editorials about treaty shellfish rights, water rights, and a myriad other issues. He served on the leadership council of the Puget Sound Partnership from its inception in 2005. He spared no effort to his decades-long fight for justice and environmental preservation, proving him to be a very passionate leader.

Resilient

No matter how hard it is to preserve the fishing rights of his tribe, Billy Frank never gave up. He was arrested in December 1945, when he was just 14. He had set a net on the Nisqually

Billy Frank Jr. (1931-2014) getting arrested, Olympia

River the night before his arrest to snare fish from the late chum run headed for the Muck Creek freshet. This location burst forth with fish around December every year. He hid his canoe under a fallen maple and arose early the next morning, while it was still dark, to claim and clean his catch. But while doing so, there came a shout, “You’re under arrest!” This arrest for “illegal” fishing on his beloved Nisqually River, spurred Bill Frank to become a leader of a civil disobedience movement that insisted on treaty rights. He was fighting for the right to fish in “usual and accustomed places” which was guaranteed to Washington tribes more than a century before. More than 50 arrests would follow over the years, for Billy Frank and for many other tribe members. However, Billy Frank Jr. continued to fish, and he continued to get arrested.

Billy’s life is turbulent, but Billy is not. He was resilient to all the arrests because he believed it was of the utmost importance to preserve the traditions of his people. He had been taught as a member of the Nisqually tribe that his people had fished for millenniums in the waters that flow from the foot of Mount Rainier into Puget Sound in Washington. He was determined to protect his rights and never wavered.

Inspiring

Bill Frank is an incredible, influential and inspirational leader by his courage, kindness, and dedication. He supported hundreds of Indians’ families and their traditions.  One man shared his memories of the life and work of Billy Frank, “he didn’t mince words, they came from the heart and he said it like it was. His spirit will live on in memories and the heart.” Another person wrote that, “his lifetime of work demonstrates to that we are no longer faced with a question of whether or not to take on the fight. Rather, how do we continue the fight? How do we continue to move forward to advance treaty rights, to protect our resources, our culture, our way of life and ultimately our people?”

Billy Frank Jr. (1931-2014) at Treaty Tree

Bill Frank once said that “I don’t believe in magic. I believe in the sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods, the owls, the hawks flying, the river running, the wind talking. They’re measurements. They tell us how healthy things are. How healthy we are. Because we and they are the same. That’s what I believe in.” His heart and his presence had a way of attracting people young and old, from all walks of life and inspiring them to continue the fight of preserving their rights as indigenous people.

Billy Frank Jr. – Biographical Timeline

Biographical Timeline | Leadership Qualities | Fishing Rights in Alaska | References