Active Public Notice: Request for Ferry Naming Proposals
Public Notice (pdf 320 kb)
Deadline for Proposals: April 30, 2010
Name Proposals Meeting Requirements as of April 30, 2010:
The Commission made its selection of the final two names from a list of five finalist name proposals listed below:
Proposed Name: Salish
Lead/ Sponsoring Entity: San Juan County Council
Meaning/ Significance: Salish refers to the Coast Salish people of Washington, British Columbia, and Oregon and is also the geographical name of the inland marine sea comprised of Juan de Fuca Strait, the Strait of Georgia, and the Puget Sound.
The Lead/ Sponsoring Entity For The Following List of Proposed Names Is: Town of Friday Harbor
Proposed Name #1: Al-ki
Meaning/ Significance: Al-ki is the Washington State Motto meaning “By and By”
Proposed Name #2: Kulshan
Meaning/ Significance: Kulshan is a name given to Mount Baker by indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, meaning “White sentinel” (ie: “mountain”)
Proposed Name #3: Lushoot
Meaning/ Significance: Lushoot, short for Lushoot-seed, is a member of the Salish language family, whose approximately twenty surviving languages are spoken from northern Oregon to central British Columbia, and from the Pacific coast eastward into Montana and along the British Columbia-Alberta border.
Proposed Name: “Tokitae”
Lead/ Sponsoring Entities: The Orca Network
Meaning/ Significance: “Tokitae” is a Coast Salish greeting meaning “Nice day, pretty colors”, and is also the name given to an orca captured at Penn Cove, near Keystone, in 1970. Tokitae was brought to a marine park in Miami 40 years ago, where she was put into service as an entertainer, and named Lolita. She is the last survivor of the 45 Southern Resident orcas captured in WA state during the capture era of the 1960s and 70s. Such captures were later banned in Washington State waters in 1976.
Proposed Name: “Kennewick”
Lead/ Sponsoring Entities: City of Kennewick
Meaning/ Significance: Kennewick has several native meanings: “winter paradise”, “winter haven,” “grassy place” and “grassy slope.” The name Kennewick comes from the Indian name Kin-i-wak. Kennewick was the gathering place for Native American peoples of the Chemnapums, Nez Perces, Walla Wallas, Yakamas, Cayuses, Wanapams, and Umatillas. Kennewick, located along the banks of the Columbia River, has been a major transportation artery since 1811, when fur traders began exploring the northwest. By the 1860s steam-driven riverboats ferried men and their freight up the Columbia.
Proposed Name: “Cowlitz”
Lead/ Sponsoring Entities: Cowlitz Indian Tribe
Meaning/ Significance: The Cowlitz tribe provided key assistance with pioneer transportation and commercial activities in what some historians refer to as the Cowlitz Corridor which linked the Columbia River valley with South Puget Sound communities long before Washington Territory was established. The Washington Territorial Legislature honored the tribe by naming one of our earliest counties for them. This county includes a broad flood plain located at the mouth of the Cowlitz River at the Columbia River that was a swamp in pre-European settlement days which some authorities believe was the source for the meaning of the name Cowlitz, which is “capturing medicine spirit.”
Proposed Name: “Samish”
Lead/Sponsoring Entities: Samish Indian Nation
Meaning/ Significance: “Samish” is the “giving people” in proto-Salish origins. The Samish Indian Nation has held a deep-rooted respect for the traditions of sharing with its neighbors. The Tribe’s historic area ranges from the mountain tops of the Cascades westerly along the hills, woodlands, and river deltas, arriving at the far western shores of the San Juan Islands.