In 1910 Chief Si'ahl's (Chief Seattle) nephew, Sbeebayoo (known as "Indian Billy" Phillips) and his wife Ellen (1812-1910), members of the Duwamish Tribe, were struggling to survive in their home at the foot of Stacy Street, just south of the Pioneer Square neighborhood. Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters seized the story, describing how Sbeebayoo's camping places along the Puget Sound shoreline had become private property, and the new owners resented Indian “trespassers.” Both game and fish were harder to come by, as habitat loss, pollution, and commercial fishing took their toll. With the help of cousins from Suquamish and donations from non-Native Seattleites, the couple moved into a new cabin on Salmon Bay, next to that of Hwelchteed and Cheethlooleetsa, who may have been related. However no indigenous people remained at Salmon Bay when the locks were complete in 1916.
This image shows Ellen Phillips stading in the doorway of their cabin.
Caption information source: Thrush, C. 2017. Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place, Second Edition. University of Washington Press: Seattle. Caption information source: The Seattle Daily Times, October 5, 1910, page 12
ID Number: 2000.107.095.28.05
Date: 1910
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 6.5 x 8.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant.
