October 13th, 2010
Samish Tribal leader Laura Edwards
> This portrait, among my favorites, was taken on September 24, 1983 at the dedication ceremony of the “Maiden of Deception Pass” story pole at Rosario Beach. I was commissioned by tribal leader Ken Hansen of Anacortes to photograph the event, attended by several dozen tribal members including elder Laura Edwards. According to current Samish General Manager Leslie Eastwood, “Laura was the widow of Alfred Edwards, who was the late Chief/Chairman of the Samish Tribe. He signed my father’s enrollment card in the late 1950s.” Non-native woodcarver Tracy Powell of Fidalgo Island spent many hours with Edwards learning the story of the Maiden. Hansen played the key role in regaining federal recognition of the Samish Tribe after they were dropped from the Bureau of Indian Affairs list of tribal nations in 1969. The tribe regained recognition in 1996. Edwards and Hansen have since died. For more information about the Samish Tribe, click on the link below:
http://www.samishtribe.nsn.us/