Our Area’s First Language

Patti Kashiwa led a team of volunteers to make plant signs in Lushootseed and English at the Shoreline Historical Museum. Photo by Sally Yamasaki

By Sally Yamasaki 

At the Shoreline Historical Museum, local ceramist, Patti Kashiwa, led a crew of volunteers to create twenty-five clay native plant signs in Lushootseed and English. The process took three days with many hands working together. 

“It was a lot of fun to work with clay and learn about Lushootseed, and the results turned out really well,” according to a volunteer.

Volunteer team making clay native plant signs in Lushootseed and English
Photo by Sally Yamasaki

This Saturday, May 4, 2024 from 10:00am – 12:00pm the Shoreline Historical Museum will host a program to learn about the Language of the Forest by Professor Dana Campbell, as well as place the hand-made Lushootseed and English clay signs with their corresponding native plants. 

There will also be a fun clay activity where all ages can create a forest guardian to take home or leave in the forest. 

So, what is (txʷəlšucid, dxʷləšucid) Lushootseed?  If we want to learn the first language of this area, Lushootseed is the language we would study. 

Map from: “The Lushootseed Language, Examining Linguistics in the Native Pacific Northwest”

According to Tami Hahn, assistant teaching professor at the University of Washington, Southern Lushootseed is the first language spoken in the Duwamish Territory (which includes Seattle, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Squaxin, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, and Nisqually. 

Lushootseed, Seattle’s original language,” Seattle Channel 

“Lushootseed” are two words that translate to mean, “Saltwater” and “Language.” 

There are two dialects of Lushootseed - northern and southern, according to the Lushootseed blog: Lushootseed Language, Examining Linguistics in the native Pacific Northwest 

Lushootseed was the main language first spoken in our area for many years. However, with the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855, the language began to decrease. 

 “The decline was largely brought about when thousands of young Native Americans were forced to attend boarding schools in the 1880’s through the 1920’s. In a concerted effort of forced assimilation, these boarding schools punished the use of Lushootseed, and as a result the language experienced a severe decrease in speakers.” (What is Lushootseed)

Last December, the Shoreline Historical Museum planted a Miyawaki Urban Forest. The methodology of the Miyawaki is to use native plants. On planting day of the forest, over 300 community members came to help. 

Join the Shoreline Historical Museum on Saturday, May 4th
to label the native plants in Lushootseed and English.

With Spring here, and the Miyawaki forest plants beginning to bud out, the Shoreline Historical Museum saw a need to label the plants and it made sense to make sure to use the original names these plants were given from the Southern Lushootseed speakers of the time. 

More information about this program and other upcoming ones here 

Web References 

• What is Lushootseed/ 
• Seattle's original language
• Learn Lushootseed pronunciation for plant names