Welcoming Figure

Steve Brown, Joe Gobin, and Andy Wilbur-Peterson

Richmond Beach Saltwater Park

Coast Salish figures pay homage to Indigenous culture at the water’s edge.

Along the shore of the Puget Sound at Richmond Beach Saltwater Park in Shoreline, WA, a 10-foot tall cast bronze sculpture welcomes visitors. Created by Steve Brown, in collaboration with Joe Gobin and Andy Wilbur-Peterson, Welcoming Figure was designed in the Coast Salish style, honoring the region’s First Peoples.

The sculpture—originally carved out of red cedar, which the Salish peoples consider the “Great Life Giver”— depicts a woman holding a large steering paddle and a man wearing a Salish-style canoe as a headdress above his woven cedar bark hat. For thousands of years, Richmond Beach was a campsite for the Indigenous communities who traveled in dugout canoes to harvest clams and shellfish. A Tribal Advisory Committee selected the beach as the site for the sculpture to celebrate the importance of waterways and canoeing in Salish culture.

Though he is not an Indigenous artist, Brown is an important contributor to contemporary Northwest Coast art, which he first discovered at age 15. He has worked as a carver and teacher since 1969 and today makes metalwork and large-scale sculpture. He is also recognized for his research into renowned Łingít (Tlingit) artist Kadjisdu.axtc and previously served as Curator for Northwest Coast Art at the Seattle Art Museum. Andy Wilbur-Peterson, SqWuqWu’b3sh (Skokomish), taught himself how to carve and paint by age 18; he continues to research and contribute to the revival of Salish art today. Master Carver Joe Gobin, dxʷləšúcid (Lushootseed), focuses on the revitalization of Salish art forms through his own work, which includes painting, weaving, metalwork, glass, and digital media in addition to carving.