“Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished.”
Chief Seattle 1854
We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is within the ancestral territory of the suq̀ʷabš “People of Clear Salt Water” (Suquamish People). Expert fisherman, canoe builders and basket weavers, the suq̀ʷabš live in harmony with the lands and waterways along Washington’s Central Salish Sea as they have for thousands of years. Here, the suq̀ʷabš live and protect the land and waters of their ancestors for future generations as promised by the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855.
History of Peace Poles
The Peace Pole project was started in Japan by Masahisa Goi (1916-1980). After witnessing the devastation caused by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII, Goi dedicated himself to the attainment of global peace and harmony.
The message, May Peace Prevail on Earth, came to him in 1955 and peace poles with this message began to appear across Japan. It’s estimated there are currently over 25.000 peace poles around the world, with the message in different languages.
