Seattle wears the region’s Indigenous art on its sleeve. And Helmet.

The Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks’ logo is taken from a Northwest Coast formline mask. Beyond the football team, no major city in America puts local Indigenous art more front and center than Seattle.

Recognizing and understanding Northwest Coast art begins with formline.

Here’s how the Seattle Art Museum describes the style:

· Primary formlines (usually painted black) that outline the main design

· Secondary formlines (usually painted red) that define anatomical features such as mouths and limbs

· Ovoids (ovals) that function as eyes or joints

· Variety of U-shapes that help to further define the anatomy

· S-shapes, T-shapes (called trigons), and circular shapes that separate design units

With that foundation, the Museum’s spectacular Native American Art galleries make for a great place to begin your exploration and enjoyment of Indigenous art across Seattle.

Seattle Art Museum

Highlighted by a massive spruce screen circa 1810 attributed to Naakustaa (Tlingit) and a pair of red cedar, circa 1907 interior houseposts by Arthur Shaughnessy (b. 1957; Kwakwaka’wakw), the Seattle Art Museum’s display of Native American artwork is unsurpassed in the nation for “wow” factor. The splendor and visual impact of the carvings and masks on view rival anything from the history of human creation.

The tribes’ intimate connections and reliance on nature come through in the materials and motifs. Cedar. Feathers. Leather. Ravens, salmon, orcas. The animal and human worlds are not separate to these cultures. Should not be separate to any culture.

The Museum’s inclusion of Native American art extends beyond the galleries strictly devoted to it. Wendy Red Star’s (b. 1981; Apsáalooke) Áakiiwilaxpaake (People of the Earth) (2022) lightbox welcomes visitors to SAM’s American art galleries. Native American art here is a priority, not a box to check. Guests are better off for it.

A downside to visiting SAM is the cost: $32.99 adult general admission purchased day of. Ouch! Entry costs the same at the equally wonderful Seattle Aquarium three blocks away. The Aquarium displays a variety of contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous art throughout its two buildings directly on Elliott Bay along the city’s spectacularly renovated waterfront–$800 million in the making.

Seattle is one of America’s most expensive cities to visit. In the noble pursuit of requiring ride share drivers earn a livable wage, Seattle rideshare trips are the most expensive in the nation. It can cost $100 bucks to go from the airport to downtown. Fortunately, the city’s super-simple LINK light rail makes the trip from SEA-TAC through downtown near most of the tourist hotspots for $3.00.

Indigenous Cultural Centers

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center seven miles north of downtown in Discovery Park is not a museum, but it houses a museum-quality collection of Native American art. The architectural marvel set up on a bluff overlooking Shilshole Bay–close enough to hear the seals barking–hosts regular community events, a Mother’s Day art market, and an annual powwow in July.

The Cultural Center is operated by the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation. Having been dispossessed of their land, a group of tribal activists representing Native people throughout the area came together in the 1970s to take back this place upon which a decommissioned military base sat.

The Cultural Center has an excellent giftshop and is free to visit; donations are greatly appreciated. Taking the 33 bus from downtown will save you a $50 rideshare if you’ve got the time.

On Seattle’s southern end, the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center offers a similar look into the region’s Indigenous culture without the breathtaking view. Go to these places. Meet the city’s Indigenous residents. Support their efforts toward remaining visible and vibrant in their homelands.

Opening later this year on Lake Union in the heart of Seattle will be a Northwest Native Canoe Center. Coast Salish and Northwest tribal people traveled the region’s rivers and coastline by canoe since time immemorial.

“The project will provide opportunities for visitors to physically interact with and participate actively within a portion of Native Culture that is largely unseen today and provides a space where practices and thousand-year-old traditions can be witnessed once again,” according to the City of Seattle.

The project is a collaboration between the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation and Seattle Parks. The carving house will include a carved Welcome Figure.

Welcome Figures and Totem Poles

The totem poles associated with Northwest Coast tribes are renowned throughout the world. Less known, but no less remarkable, are the Welcome Figures, an outstanding example of which stands outside the city’s convention center. Northwest Coast Native art took a high priority in the building’s decor.

“(Welcome Figures) are here to take care of us as a community,” text from the artist, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo (Squaxin Island Tribe), reads on a marker at the base of her Mowitch Man (2023) old growth red cedar carving. The figure holds a talking stick, “a powerful symbol and communication tool used to foster listening and respect during the gathering, ensuring all may be heard,” according to the marker.

For totem poles, start at the Seattle Center in the shadow of the Space Needle and the John T. Williams Memorial Totem Pole. Williams (1960-2010) was a Ditidaht First Nation woodcarver unjustifiably shot and killed by a Seattle Police officer.

Settler colonial violence defines the Seattle Center totem pole while settler colonial theft backgrounds the one in Pioneer Square. This carving is a replica of a totem pole stolen by city leaders in the late 19^th century–chopped down where it stood in present day Alaska and transported back to Seattle for display. A robbery. Cultural desecration.

“After rot and fire damaged the original pole in 1938, Tlingit craftsmen, including several descendants of the carvers of the original pole, carved a replica and donated it to Seattle to replace the original, which was returned to Tlingit lands and laid to rest,” according to the city’s Museum of History and Industry.

Indigenous Art Galleries

Three blocks from the Pioneer Square totem pole find Stonington Gallery. The gallery represents legendary artists of the Northwest Coast and Alaska including Robert Davidson, Beau Dick, and Norman Tait, with a special emphasis on glass art–a Seattle specialty–including pieces by Preston Singletary, Dan Friday, and Raven Skyriver.

One block from the Seattle Art Museum, Tidelands displays gallery co-owner Matika Wilburn’s photography along with a variety of prints, paintings, carvings, and retail items in its gift shop. Prices are remarkably reasonable for the caliber of work.

Two blocks north of popular Pike Place Market, Steinbrueck Native Gallery also has a spectacular selection of authentic Northwest Coast masks, paddles, and panels, along with prints and jewelry for entry level collectors and souvenir shoppers.

Populus Hotel

Nature lovers will delight in Populus Hotel’s forest-friendly entry and conservation ethic. The 1907 building in Pioneer Square went through an arduous renovation to become a hotel–a carbon positive hotel opened in spring 2025–thanks to painstaking efforts to reuse construction materials and efficiency best practices throughout. Its rooftop native plant landscaping is fabulous. Reclaimed Douglas fir creates warmth and surfaces no amount of money can recreate new.

Art lovers will delight in the large lobby paintings and original artworks created specifically for the hotel by local, national, and international artists. All are for sale. The hotel’s art program extends into the historic neighborhood’s–dating back to the Klondike Gold Rush–adjoining streets, buildings, and alleys.

Book lovers will delight in the Nature Library with its collection of art books and local interest guides and history. Perfect for a rainy day.

Cocktail lovers will delight in the rooftop bar, Pioneer Square’s first. Perfect for a sunny day.

Sports lovers will delight in its location within eyeshot of the Seahawks and Seattle Mariners stadiums. Perfect for gameday.

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