The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish
Restores the river to its central place in the city’s history

With bountiful salmon and fertile plains, the Duwamish River has drawn people to its shores over the centuries for trading, transport, and sustenance. Chief Se’alth and his allies fished and lived in villages here and white settlers established their first settlements nearby. Industrialists later straightened the river’s natural turns and built factories on its banks, floating in raw materials and shipping out airplane parts, cement, and steel. Unfortunately, the very utility of the river has been its undoing, as decades of dumping led to the river being declared a Superfund cleanup site.

Using previously unpublished accounts by Indigenous people and settlers, BJ Cummings’s compelling narrative restores the Duwamish River to its central place in Seattle and Pacific Northwest history. Writing from the perspective of environmental justice—and herself a key figure in river restoration efforts—Cummings vividly portrays the people and conflicts that shaped the region’s culture and natural environment. She conducted research with members of the Duwamish Tribe, with whom she has long worked as an advocate. Cummings shares the river’s story as a call for action in aligning decisions about the river and its future with values of collaboration, respect, and justice.

1135194247
The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish
Restores the river to its central place in the city’s history

With bountiful salmon and fertile plains, the Duwamish River has drawn people to its shores over the centuries for trading, transport, and sustenance. Chief Se’alth and his allies fished and lived in villages here and white settlers established their first settlements nearby. Industrialists later straightened the river’s natural turns and built factories on its banks, floating in raw materials and shipping out airplane parts, cement, and steel. Unfortunately, the very utility of the river has been its undoing, as decades of dumping led to the river being declared a Superfund cleanup site.

Using previously unpublished accounts by Indigenous people and settlers, BJ Cummings’s compelling narrative restores the Duwamish River to its central place in Seattle and Pacific Northwest history. Writing from the perspective of environmental justice—and herself a key figure in river restoration efforts—Cummings vividly portrays the people and conflicts that shaped the region’s culture and natural environment. She conducted research with members of the Duwamish Tribe, with whom she has long worked as an advocate. Cummings shares the river’s story as a call for action in aligning decisions about the river and its future with values of collaboration, respect, and justice.

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The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish

The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish

by BJ Cummings
The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish

The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish

by BJ Cummings

Paperback

$19.95 
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Overview

Restores the river to its central place in the city’s history

With bountiful salmon and fertile plains, the Duwamish River has drawn people to its shores over the centuries for trading, transport, and sustenance. Chief Se’alth and his allies fished and lived in villages here and white settlers established their first settlements nearby. Industrialists later straightened the river’s natural turns and built factories on its banks, floating in raw materials and shipping out airplane parts, cement, and steel. Unfortunately, the very utility of the river has been its undoing, as decades of dumping led to the river being declared a Superfund cleanup site.

Using previously unpublished accounts by Indigenous people and settlers, BJ Cummings’s compelling narrative restores the Duwamish River to its central place in Seattle and Pacific Northwest history. Writing from the perspective of environmental justice—and herself a key figure in river restoration efforts—Cummings vividly portrays the people and conflicts that shaped the region’s culture and natural environment. She conducted research with members of the Duwamish Tribe, with whom she has long worked as an advocate. Cummings shares the river’s story as a call for action in aligning decisions about the river and its future with values of collaboration, respect, and justice.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780295750989
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Publication date: 05/11/2022
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

BJ Cummings is founder of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition and previously served as executive director of Sustainable Seattle. Cummings is currently manager of community engagement for the Superfund Research Program at the University of Washington.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 3

1 In the Beginning The "Duwamps" and Its First People, before 1850 14

2 And then there was Blood Newcomers, Alliances, and Betrayals, 1850-1900 29

3 Sweat and the Transformation of a Watershed Moving Mountains and Rivers, 1900-1950 58

4 Tears on the Fenceline The High Cost of Pollution, 1950-2000 96

5 River Revival An Environmental and Cultural Renaissance, 2000 to the Present 126

Afterword 174

Notes 177

A Note about Sources 207

Index 211

What People are Saying About This

Denis Hayes

"Cummings—scholar, activist, and gifted writer—movingly describes the vital importance of the Duwamish to indigenous peoples; its despoiling by local industries into a toxic Superfund site; and its prospects for becoming a model of restoration. This wonderful book offers both an indictment and a ray of hope."

David R. Montgomery

"Cummings brings the river and its history to life in a chronicle of colonization, neglect, and rebirth. A must-read for anyone who wants to know the story flowing through Seattle."

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