Land Acknowledgement: “I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.” - Duwamish Tribe
*If you are just getting here, please go back and read part 1 & part 2 of this 4-part Martha Washington Park series. Part 1 & 2 were released together last week. Part 3 & 4 are being published together this week. I will try not to have too many broken up stories like this in the future, but this park had a lot to share. Thank you for reading - I hope you enjoy.
I don’t have a typical writing routine yet, but I do a lot of it out in the field real-time and then race home to finish it before I forget the details. Yet it somehow took me two months to write up the series on Martha Washington Park, with a lot of stops and starts. I gave up a few times and made a lot of deals with myself, to no avail. This place feels too important to rush. It needed time to percolate.
A few weeks ago, our political landscape had me spiraling there for a bit. My therapist had me delete social media from my phone for two weeks. I was spending hours doomsday scrolling and getting sucked into the comments, then shouting things like “supreme court voter!” to all my friends and complete strangers.
Sometimes the idea of burning it all to the ground does sound refreshing, however easier said than done. Maybe all we can do is take to the trees. Or grass if you don't have trees. Or just try to take some deep breaths outside if you don't have grass. And be grateful for the sun and the moon. As much as we’ve tried, it seems that we have not yet thrown enough trash into space to block out the sun or the moon. Gratitude is key.
I'm a ghost girly through and through and love checking out haunted places and learning the histories, however bleak. I love hiking and exploring new spooks. Martha Washington Park is the perfect combination of paranormal lore meets creepy woods and ocean shores.
But I've been having some reservations lately about focusing on the dire. The tragedies. I've been invited on a few ghost hunts that make me question my motivations. I know how incredibly naive that sounds, but it's easy to get wrapped up in the spooky fun and forget about how these are real people who lived here before. These are human spirits with lives and histories, and they are more than the sum of their tragedies. They deserve better.
I guess you could say I am trying to toe the line between exploration and ethics. Honoring the Spirits and venerating the dead, while seeking my own knowledge and developing my moral compass. If you have any advice on this topic or reading recommendations about ghost hunting ethics, please share them in the comments.
During my research of this location, I've been struggling with how to portray this park so that I may pay my respects and do it justice. After publishing my first post about it, I pulled a couple Oracle cards related to the situation - the Mort Bell and the Sun. (I've pulled the Sun a couple of times in reference to this park.)
To me, this indicated I needed to dig deeper. The spirits are awake. The land is healing and growing. The energy is changing. New narratives. Multiple things can be true. I started to research the land. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I think I bit off a bit more than my dreary heart could comprehend.
Martha Washington Park is one of several parks tended to by the Washington Native Plants Society (WNPS). But from what I can tell, it is the only one with an hour long YouTube video dedicated to walking us through all of the work that has gone towards restoring the park to its previous native glory. They are doing so by consulting with and re-establishing protocols implemented by the Duwamish Tribe when the land was originally purposed.
*The keynote speaker in the video, David Perasso, is a total hoot. Please watch it. I was up until 3 AM on a Saturday watching it, thoroughly entertained. I've included a few of my favorite clips below, in case you aren't sold by my glowing endorsement.
Martha Washington Park isn't just about the desecration of sacred burial grounds and child abuse, murder and mayhem. It is also about managing conifers to ensure the 8-9 remaining 300 year old Garry Oak Trees in the area survive. It is about setting aside plots for native wild flowers and clearing 30-40% of the earth for ground-nesting bees.
I fell madly in love with this park and went back the next day to visit during the daytime. The volunteers maintaining the grounds were hard at work. There is a Facebook group dedicated to organizing community planting and clean-up days.
The WNPS is tracking the species of plants and their annual cycles. They work with First People to determine native species and practices, trying to model today's protocols after ancestral methodologies.
I learned about the apple trees which were planted by the students in the 1920s and are still intensely cared for today. How the mulch surrounding them provides a fresh bed for fallen apples and hinders mold from growing and attracting moths and rats.
How the infamous hanging madrone tree was originally planted for the students to climb on, but it was allegedly cut down in the 90's, and how they are now slowly trying to re-assimilate madrone trees into the park.
This land is grieving with painful history. It is also deeply cherished and loved. We don't often take the opportunity to learn and grow (in this case literally) from our wounds and turn them into something beautiful.
“But making trauma the sole focus of ancestor work reinforces the idea that our trauma is the sum of our identities. And it’s not. No one person can heal thousands of years of pain.” - Claire Goodchild, The Book of Ancestors
In Part 4, I wrap up the series with one last visit to the park after learning more about the restoration. I wanted to make a little space here to share a few of my favorite clips below from the WNPS presentation (Don’t worry, they’re entertaining! And quick! ~1 min long). Please check these out and then go wrap up the series with Part 4!
Interesting info about Garry Oaks:
This made me laugh so hard:
This part about ground nesting bees made me cry:
This was absolutely chef’s kiss, especially if you like squirrels, acorns, or social media:
The most healthy outlook on problems that I’ve probably ever heard:
Acknowledgements to the ancestors and First Nations people:
Ancestral veneration and healing by connecting to the land:
Oak Woodland Restoration at Martha Washington Park - Agriculture With Traditional Roots by David Perasso and Antonio Flores
*This Martha Washington Park series includes four articles released over two weeks. Part 1 & part 2 were published together last week and part 3 & 4 came out together this week.
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