siastenu (1857-1958), also named Ruth Sehome Shelton, was born in 1857 on Guemes Island, in one of the last remaining Samish longhouses. She was descended from the Dungeness Klallam, the Lummi, and the Samish peoples. siastenu spread the oral histories of the Coast Salish peoples and carried knowledge of that history into the 20th century. In 1889, siastenu married Wheakadim or Whah-kay-dub (also named William Shelton), who was a leader of the Snohomish people.

This image shows siastenu at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer office on November 16, 1940. She visited the newspaper to deliver a forecast of a cold and harsh winter ahead. While at the PI, siastenu had a conversation in Chinook Jargon with Ed Dalby, the newspaper’s marine editor. Chinook Jargon was a trade language derived from French, English, and several different Indigenous languages. siastenu noted that few white people at that time knew Chinook Jargon and complimented Dalby on his grasp of the language.

Caption information source: “siastenu Ruth Shelton,” Tulalip Lushootseed, retrieved from https://tulaliplushootseed.com/dx%CA%B7s%C9%99hubtx%CA%B7-story-tellers/ruth-siast%C9%99nu-shelton/
Caption information source: "'Klonas mika wasa Chinook?' and chief's widow knows the answers," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nov. 17, 1940, page 24