Gig Harbor, WA

The statue, “Our Fisherman, Our Guardian,” was carved by artist Guy Capoeman, president of the Quinault Nation. It depicts a Salish fisherman holding a huge salmon — in Capoeman’s words, “The One with All, the Ancient Ancestor.”

The fisherman wears a woven cedar hat and a cedar vest typical of those worn by the Puyallup Tribe. The big salmon has a copper overlay and three blue glass circles that symbolize the water where the salmon live. On each side of the figure stands a Southern Salish-style canoe, also carved from redwood.

The “Honoring Project,” as the process of commissioning and creating the sculpture was called, began in 2016. A group of Gig Harbor residents, led by retired teacher Gary Williamson, brainstormed how the city could honor the original inhabitants of the area.

At that time there was nothing in Gig Harbor — not even a street name — that referred to the Puyallup Tribe’s ties to the area.