By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
The creativity and talent of Puyallup Tribe Heritage Division Manager Connie McCloud and two other Coast Salish weavers will soon be seen on the Emerald Queen Casino pitch at Lumen Field in Seattle.
McCloud teamed up with fellow weavers Gail White Eagle from the Muckleshoot Tribe and Danielle Morsette from the Suquamish Tribe to design the latest Seattle Sounders FC kit. They started collaborating nearly a year and a half ago.
The uniform features navy, aqua, blue and light blue colors. McCloud said the designs on the jerseys feature a basket weaving design and the Puyallup Tribal fish.
It is officially named the Salish Sea kit. The pattern is a blend of symmetrical shapes and diagonal lines found in Coast Salish weaving.
“The world is going to see our designs. … they will see the culture of our people from the Northwest. It will be seen worldwide,” McCloud said. “The colors show the importance of our relationship to the earth. Blue represents the water and green represents the earth. It gives respect to our Native people, to our traditions and our history.”
The artwork created is designed to tell a memorable story for the world to see. The designs were inspired by two traditional Southern Coast Salish weaving techniques, twilling and twining, according to Seattle Sounders FC.
“The designs reflect a way of life, reflect the water and reflect the colors that represent the water and the earth. It also has the Puyallup Tribal fish as part of the design,” McCloud said. “Those were the kinds of things that were incorporated in telling the story of our connection to the land, to the water, who we are, where we come from and using weaving as a way to connect all of us together.”
McCloud said they had the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the final product they designed a few weeks ago in Seattle. They even got to see some of the players donning the new jerseys during a photoshoot.
“They took us to the suite where it was just the three of us and showed us the jerseys as they were beginning to go into production,” McCloud said.
Across the back of the neck of the jerseys is a series of symbols consisting of a wave of water, tail of an orca and a flowing “S” that represents both the Seattle Sounders and the Salish Sea.
Near the bottom of the jersey the phrase, x̌ax̌aʔ ti qʷuʔ (water is sacred) can be found in both Lushootseed and English.
McCloud said preserving the earth and water is an important aspect of Tribal culture.
“Without water, we would have nothing. Everybody would have nothing. The earth is considered by most Native people to be your mother. It really is a value that all of our people hold,” McCloud explained. “Water is sacred and it’s a life giver. Water is sacred for all of us because without the water, we would have no salmon, no crab and no oysters. There would be no life in the water and no life on the land without it. We all depend on water. We all have a responsibility to take care of the water and our earth.”
