Chetzemoka
Chetzemoka was the name given to a S’Klallam man by the white settlers that couldn’t pronounce the name he was born with. He would go on to become Chief of the S’Klallam and would be given another, significantly more European name. Eventually he would sign a treaty handing over all S’Klallam land in exchange for the right to continue hunting in its forests and fishing off its shore. He is remembered, by white folks, as a hero for helping to ease the burdens of colonization, for influencing the transition into what this place has become.
Today a ferry that bears his second name calmly carries as many as 768 passengers across the water but this was not the first ship to take on the moniker. An older vessel, created for the same purpose, ran through these waters for more than 30 years before she sunk en route to a new home. Nestled behind the dunes, no more than 50 feet from a parking lot, this lifeboat is all that remains of that first ship. It too bears a name that was forced into existence by a people that could not find it in themselves to learn how to truly see someone as who they are. It sits here, slowly decaying, a small spectacle for the swarm of locals and tourists that descend upon this beach day after day. It will never again carry passengers to shore, instead it will live here as a relic.
As the world moves forward and the years move past it, the Chief’s given name blurs into history, a vague hint of a thing that once was. What an odd thing to be remembered in this way, to be immortalized incorrectly. As I read his name, I realize that I have no idea how to pronounce it and that those who can teach me are no longer around. I long to understand its nuance and how it tastes on the tip of my tongue. I long to know it, to truly know it.
Cheech-Ma-Ham, a name that can only be explained, not heard…
His name was Cheech-Ma-Ham.
Original photograph taken in 2021 by Jono Melamed.
Print does not come framed or matted.
Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta Archival Paper.
Please allow up to three weeks for delivery.
