MUKILTEO — The world has changed since 1930, when a plaque was installed by a group of white women to mark an 1855 treaty between local tribes and the U.S. government.
But for the 40 or so people of various backgrounds gathered Friday at the site of the Treaty of Point Elliott, the focus was on starting a discussion to move forward with respect to a past deemed as unjust.
Tulalip Tribes members did a drum session and blessing at the event to dedicate a new plaque. The mayor spoke. There was a lot of handshaking and photos on the sunny afternoon near where crowds would soon gather for the opening of the city’s Lighthouse Festival.
The original marker was stolen two years ago at which time the monument, at Third Street and Lincoln Avenue, was sprayed with graffiti that read “BROKEN TREATIES.”
It has stayed blank since.
Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine, who took office this year, ordered a replica plaque, with the original wording that wasn’t controversial 92 years ago.
“We can’t rewrite history,” Marine told The Daily Herald. “We can make new history. We can right wrongs. But it’s not right to go back and change the history.”
The monument was erected in 1930 by the Marcus Whitman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
“Basically, you learn from the past,” Teri Lynn Scott, DAR spokesperson, said before the event. “They only knew what they knew. If this starts a conversation instead of an argument, that would be best.”
She also spoke at the event.
Tony Hatch on Friday reads the replacement bronze plaque for the 1855 treaty between local tribes and the U.S. government before the scheduled dedication in Mukilteo. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Tulalip Tribes Chair Teri Gobin told of the importance of the waterfront area that has since become prime real estate.
“This is the homeland territories of our people. This is where our people lived from time immemorial. And this is where we gathered from the different tribes,” she said.
Gobin said the tribes want to work with city officials on future projects. Tribal leaders were not asked for input on rewording the new plaque.
“It’s just replacing it as history,” Gobin said, “because the story we are going to tell will be a lot longer than this.”
The original plaque has not been recovered.
Nathan Fabia, a Mukilteo police spokesperson, said the case was investigated, but had been inactivated pending any leads or further information.
There is a camera by the new marker.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterbrown.
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