New welcome figure in Olympia hints at future waterfront projects downtown
After nearly a year of carving, the Mother of Restoration welcome figure has found her home in downtown Olympia.
Officials with the City of Olympia and the Squaxin Island Tribe joined artist Andrea Wilbur-Sigo on June 4 for a dedication ceremony for the welcome figure, located near Isthmus Park, 505/529 Fourth Ave. W., at the east end of the Olympia/Yashiro Friendship Bridge.
The carving is named sk̓ʷuy ʔə ti həliʔil in Lushootseed, which Wilbur-Sigo told The Olympian on June 11 translates to mother of living, or life progressive. She said the project was about beautifying and returning natural resources back to the way they once were, as much as possible, where possible.
“This was a perfect example of what it can do when we all work together and allow things to take shape as they were intended to,” she said.
According to previous reporting from The Olympian, welcome figures used to stand outside longhouses to welcome people to their territory. They were a way of protecting and celebrating people. They are often carved with arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture, or with a hand shading their eyes to watch for visitors. They come in all shapes and sizes.
Arts Program Manager Stephanie Johnson told The Olympian on June 11 that about 100 people attended the event on June 4. She said the project came out of the five-year accord the city has with the Squaxin Island Tribe, last signed in 2021. The accord is expected to be reaffirmed this year.
One of the tribe’s and city’s joint meetings culminated in a shared vision for a Welcome Figure downtown, designed by the tribe’s most well-known artist. According to previous reporting from The Olympian, Wilbur-Sigo has a number of public pieces in Olympia, including a set of Art Crossing sculptures titled “Unity” on Eastside Street.
She also sculpted a welcome figure for South Puget Sound Community College, and two welcome figures for the Seattle Convention Center titled “Mowitch Man” and “The Creator.” She said she has upward of 50 public pieces around the United States.
The Olympia City Council approved the design and location for the welcome figure on Dec. 10, 2024. Wilbur-Sigo chose the spot overlooking the future Deschutes Estuary instead of half a dozen other sites. She began working on the figure in the summer of 2025, and it’s technically not yet complete.
The Mother of Restoration is carved from cedar, with images of salmon and kelp in the skirt, acknowledging restoration efforts for both. She wears a hat woven from cedar bark, worn as regalia and for protection from the elements. She has a paddle in her hand, and she’s topless.
Soon she will have a baby on her back. Wilbur-Sigo said she expected to be finished carving the baby over the weekend.
According to previous reporting from The Olympian, the property at the eastern end of the Fourth Avenue Yashiro Friendship Bridge resonated with folks the most, because of its proximity to the water and the future Deschutes Estuary. Johnson previously told The Olympian that the location was pivotal in the fish wars of the 1970s, and the Squaxin Island Museum has a photo of Billy Frank Jr. fishing on the spot, exercising the tribe’s treaty rights in advance of the Boldt decision.
The area around the sculpture has also been improved through Percival Landing maintenance reserve funds and Parks funds. Improvements included removing the asphalt and gravel, then planting native shrubs and trees, and placing wood logs around the sculpture for seating.
Johnson said Wilbur-Sigo was paid $50,000 for the carving. She said those funds came from the Municipal Art Fund. An interpretive panel will be installed near the welcome figure, which will cost $1,000. She said the cost for a contractor, design and construction management for the new park was $265,675 from the Parks Capital Improvement Fund.
Johnson said the welcome figure might mean different things to different people, but it is ultimately referencing the restoration of the waterfront and the redevelopment of the Deschutes Estuary. She said the references to restoration of kelp beds and salmon habitat in the figure are also important to the city.
“The city of Olympia also has projects going on,” she said. “We are working to redesign Percival Landing for sea level rise, and we’re also working on the West Bay Park improvements that will remove large portions of the existing train trestle berm and open the lagoon to the larger West Bay and Budd Inlet, reshaping the shoreline to create an ecologically rich and diverse habitat, so it really is kind of the first visible sign of change that is coming to the entire water system in that area.”
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