As the People of the Water, the Squaxin Island Tribe, has occupied and stewarded the lands and water of the south Salish Sea since time immemorial. The land that is now known as the City of Olympia, was historically known as bəsčətxʷəd (bus-chut-hwud). Translated, it means “frequented by black bears”. The area and the ancestral families who lived and thrived here were known as the Steh-Chass. The Steh-Chass occupied villages all along the shores of Budd Inlet. Throughout thousands of years, and time taking its toll, a village was replaced when worn out or as families ebbed and flowed. Squaxin Park is situated on an ancient port where the Steh-Chass engaged in inter-tribal trading commerce prior to the early fur traders, pioneers, colonization and epidemics. Within the vicinity, worn several inches deep from centuries of use, were trail systems stretching thousands of miles that intersected with navigable creeks and rivers reaching the Pacific Ocean for coastal inter-tribal commerce. The Steh-Chass, had skilled wilderness guides of men and women who were valuable in service navigating arduous Salish seas, knowledgeable when to portage with flat nose canoes and could speak several languages. The Steh-Chass were a culturally wealthy, strong, sharing people.
Johnny Skalopine was one of the last medicine men from Steh-Chass, another one was from the Johns family. Johnny was 8 years old when he witnessed the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty.
To learn more about the Steh-Chass ancestors and the Squaxin Island Tribe, you are welcome to visit their Squaxin Island Museum, Library and Research Center.
In 1848, a small group of Catholic missionaries, the Oblate Fathers, came to the area at the request of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). The HBC based in London England was viewed as the most important company of the 1900th century, politically connected by advancing British interest of fur trade to riches. The Oblate Fathers displaced the Steh-Chass. They cleared the land and established the St. Joseph d’Olympia Mission and school. The Oblate Fathers’ mission was to convert the Steh-Chass and others, and for them to abandon their own spiritual and cultural practices. The displacement from ancestral lands, devastated tribal economies and the suppression of traditional knowledge caused destruction. Nonetheless, the Steh-Chass, survived the Oblate Fathers. Some non-Native historical accounts conveniently claim the relationship between the priests and local tribes was amicable. Rather, the Steh-Chass endured the oppression and survived the trauma. In addition, the incoming settlers did not mask their racism. They summarily and continuously displaced the Steh-Chass, even after the first settlers relied on the Steh-Chass to survive. Eventually, tensions over the promises made by the Federal government in the many Northwest treaties - Native and Non-Native alike - and settlers’ fears culminated in additional violence. In 1854 local settlers forcibly removed as many as 2,000 Native Americans to internment camps on Squaxin and Fox Islands. They were kept there for almost two years, and many died.
In 1860, the Mission closed, and the property lay idle for 45 years. After a legal battle ensued as to who held claim to the land, 240 acres eventually became a Park in 1905 when a group of land investors deeded the land to the City of Olympia for $1,200. Shortly thereafter, the State of Washington deeded additional tidelands along Ellis Cove to the City, on the condition they were used for park purposes. Additional land has been both donated and purchased, bringing the current total acreage to 314 acres. The park features have evolved over the years. There has been a zoo with free roaming peacocks, Swiss Chalet from the Leopold Schmidt family, wading pool and cannons that sat on the west banks of the park that are now on loan to Fort Steilacoom.
Over the years, the public and staff challenged the reasons the park was named after the Mission. The name was reflective of a brief period (12 years) when the Mission was in the area. After numerous conversations, on December 9, 2021, the Squaxin Island Tribal Council unanimously adopted a resolution to recommend that “Priest Point Park be named as Squaxin Park.”
A name chosen by the Squaxin Island Tribe honors the importance of the people and culture that have inhabited the area for many thousands of years. It recognizes those who were forcefully removed from the lands and shores of Budd Inlet and brings the Squaxin name back into the daily Olympia community.
On March 17, 2022, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) held a public hearing to review the proposal. Public comments at the hearing were predominantly in favor of the renaming. PRAC unanimously voted to recommend to Olympia City Council that the renaming move forward.
On April 25, 2022, the Olympia City Council unanimously approved the name change to Squaxin Park. The park’s name now reflects the Tribe’s long history in this area, the park’s central role as a place of community and gathering and the Tribe’s concern for acknowledging its past and present, and future stewardship of the park’s natural and cultural resources.
Today, Squaxin Park is the ideal spot to experience the natural beauty of the Northwest. With over four miles of hiking trails, nearly two miles of saltwater shoreline, a playground, and both small and large picnic shelters, there is something for everyone to enjoy. The park is also home to a wide variety of animals. Although not a comprehensive list, here is a listing of the animal species identified in the park.
Written in collaboration with the Squaxin Island Tribe and City of Olympia staff.Sources:The Squaxin Island Tribe is the acknowledge expert of our culture and history, therefore, the Tribe may not agree nor concur with some or all materials written by authors who are not representatives of the Squaxin Island Tribe.
