Five carved cedar panels depicting traditional Squaxin Island Tribe stories will line the trails at Marj Yung Park after the Olympia City Council approved the public art concept on Aug. 11.

Artist Andrea Wilbur Sigo, a Squaxin Island Tribe member and the first known Native woman carver among many generations of carvers, presented the plan at the council meeting, The JOLT reported. The city has budgeted $30,000 from its 2026 Municipal Art Plan for the project at the park, formerly known as Kaiser Woods, located at 2549 Black Lake Blvd. SW.

Each panel will stand roughly five feet tall, 18 inches wide and three inches deep, placed at separate points along the park's bicycle and pedestrian trails. Arts Program Manager Stephanie Johnson told the council the panels are meant to start as discoveries for trail users and eventually become landmarks that draw people deeper into the park.

The five panels will illustrate stories drawn from Salish and Squaxin traditions: "How the honey got its stinger," "Grandfather Octopus," "Native Butterfly Legend," "Why the Salmon Return" and "Dukabal and Grandmother Frog."

"I wanted to bring attention to things that sometimes we forget — the bees, the butterflies, the frogs," Wilbur Sigo told the council.

The panels will be fully adzed to create a textured surface and painted with acrylics. Both the front and back of each panel will be carved so the artwork can be viewed from multiple angles.

A protective bracket is being developed to shield the tops and exposed end grain from moisture and decay. The project may also include QR codes allowing trail users to access extended stories about each panel.

Wilbur Sigo plans to involve Squaxin youths, including her grandchildren, in the carving process. The project grew out of a plan to remove cedar trees at the park and create opportunities for Squaxin children to learn traditional carving. The harvested cedar turned out to be unsuitable. But the idea evolved into the larger public art commission.

Wilbur Sigo already has several public works in Olympia, including the welcome figure at Squaxin Park and the "Unity" installation along the Karen Fraser Woodland Trail. She creates her own carving tools and natural dyes, and her art forms span bentwood boxes, masks, panels, button blankets and basket weaving.

The project falls under the city's five-year accord with the Squaxin Island Tribe, signed Oct. 7, 2021, at City Hall. That agreement has also produced the raising of the Squaxin flag over City Hall and the 2022 renaming of Priest Point Park as Squaxin Park. The two governments received the 2024 Gerry L. Alexander Outstanding Achievement in Heritage Award for their collaboration.

Wilbur Sigo will return to the Arts Commission on Sept. 10 for final design review, technical details and a refined work plan. Marj Yung Park is planned as Olympia's first park with dedicated mountain bike trails, with more than 5 miles of hiking and biking paths.