William Shelton (1868-1938), named Wha-ceh-dub or Whah-kay-dub in his native language of Lushootseed, was a cultural leader of the Snohomish and expert woodworker. During his lifetime, Indigenous people were confined to live on reservations and their children were taken to boarding schools. These schools prohibited Indigenous customs or languages in an attempt to “civilize” Indigenous children and eradicate their culture. At the time, many people both white and Indigenous believed that Indigenous people and their cultural identities would eventually vanish completely.
William Shelton wanted to preserve his peoples’ stories and cultural values through art. Though totem poles were not traditionally made by the Indigenous peoples of Washington, he decided to adapt the form. He gathered stories from elders of multiple tribes in western Washington and began carving a 60-foot pole with figures that represented the stories. The pole also included figures called skla’letut which represent guardian spirits or supernatural powers and figures that Shelton remembered from his childhood on the Tulalip Reservation. He called the result a “story pole.” His first story pole was carved in 1912 and installed in 1913 in front of the Tulalip Indian School. Over the rest of his life Shelton carved at least 16 additional large story poles for public display.
This image shows Shelton carving a story pole commissioned by the City of Everett. This pole was installed in 1923 and includes figures of an octopus, a man, and a frog.
Caption information source: “The carved legacy of Snohomish cultural leader William Shelton,” by Christy Christodoulides, Burke Museum, retrieved from: https://www.burkemuseum.org/news/carved-legacy-snohomish-cultural-leader-william-shelton Caption information source: “Shelton, William (1868-1938),” by Margaret Riddle, HistoryLink essay #8928, retrieved from: https://www.historylink.org/File/8928
