Bob Satiacum was a rabble rousing Puyallup tribal leader who ended up dying in Canada while a fugitive from the U.S.I don't quite remember what Bob Satiacum did. Was it something over fishing rights?
Bob Satiacum passed his rabble rousing gene on to his namesake son, Robert.
Robert Satiacum is part of an American Indian crusade to restore traditional names of spiritual places in the Pacific Northwest.
Like Mount Rainier.
British explorer George Vancouver made his way around the Northwest re-naming landmarks that had gone by other names for thousands of years.
Today, Memorial Day, Tribal People from all over the Northwest are meeting in Tacoma's Portland Avenue Park for what they are calling the Day of 1000 Drums.
Satiacum says he is not asking that Mount Rainier's name be changed, but what is being asked is that its real name be restored.
The fact that Mount Rainier was named after some obscure British military man is a bit absurd. But, I really don't see people in the Northwest getting used to called the mountain, Mount Ti'Swaq.
Pronounced "tea-swawk". With a hard "k".
Now, up in Alaska, Mount McKinley was changed to Mount Denali without too much upset. And that with a mountain named after an American President, not some British army guy.
But, Denali falls more trippingly from the tongue than Ti'Swaq. At least to my ears.
Is Rainier Beer still being produced? Taking a swig of Ti'Swaq Beer might go over well.
Ti'Swaq Cabins doesn't have quite the same ring to it as Mt. Rainier Cabins, at least not to my ears ;o)
ReplyDeleteTi'Swaq Beer, however, sound delicious! (And Rainier Beer is still prevalent around Washington)