8/31/20

Another view of Ozette

I posted about the Makah village of Ozette a few weeks back, and went back out to the site last week to do some survey work with staff from the Makah Tribe.  While there I had the chance to replicate a historical picture of the village that was given to me by Paul Gleeson, former Cultural Resources Director for Olympic National Park, and former site manager at the Ozette archeological dig (Paul is mentioned in this article about the dig).  So Paul passed on this photo, that he suggested was likely taken in the late 1800's or early 1900's:


To be clear, I DON'T know where this photo came from, or who to credit for its appearance here (if a reader does know more about this photo, please reach out).  But it is such an interesting perspective on the village site, as it is shot from Tskawahyah Island, so provides some sense for both the southern stretch of the village site, and also what the village would have looked like approaching from the sea (which presumably was the way that most people arrived and left from the village back at this time).  Here is the contemporary view from the same spot:

View of the Ozette Village site taken on 24 August 2020

This modern photo was obviously taken at a lower tide, but some of the sea-stacks, and even individual boulders and small rocks in the inter-tidal are shared in both photos.  There are obvious differences in the vegetation on the slopes behind the village - probably not a surprise given how many people lived here.  What I really like about the historic photo, though, is it provides a sense for how far south on this point people lived...well into the area that is now part of Olympic National Park and heavily used by backpackers for camping.  


1 comment:

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.