A San Juan Island waterway honors a native county commissioner and his descendants

Cayou Channel, renaming and remembering

||| BY TREVOR SNAPP |||

The Cayou family hosted a historic blessing and canoe journey to celebrate the renaming of a key ferry route in the San Juan Islands for their ancestor Henry Cayou, an entrepreneur and pathbreaking county commissioner of the early 20th century.

Henry’s great niece, Rosie Cayou, a well known figure in the San Juan Islands, organized the event with local residents who helped push through the process. Rosie is an inspiring Samish cultural teacher whose ancestors homesteaded Orcas Island, founded the town of Deer Harbor, and helped build the San Juan Islands’ modern fishing industry. The Cayou family never left and have played an important role in the island’s history.

“I am sure that my great uncle is a very proud spirit today, happy and proud spirit. As are the rest of the Cayous up there. I am proud to be sharing these waters with the spirits of the sea. I am proud for the entire Cayou family and for the communities of the San Juan Islands.” said Rosie at the event.

As part of the blessing a Samish Indian Nation canoe landed at West Sound, Orcas Island, where it was welcomed by Cayou descendants and islanders that had promoted the change from Harney Channel to Cayou Channel—a change also supported by General Harney’s descendants.

Sam Barr (Samish tribal citizen) skippered the Samish canoe which brought together a diverse crew of young people with connections to many different Coast Salish tribes. Before the journey he told them:

“This is a significant day today, celebrating a small step in healing by renaming this channel by honoring a family that has been here for a long time. It’s worth noting that it is an intertribal family. And that is one thing I love about auntie Rosie is that she is one who always reminds people that nobody is a single tribe. The reality is that we have always been related and it is just about learning that history.”

Ken Carrasco was a co-proposer of the name change, which he said was driven by the notorious deeds of General Harney. Historians say he killed an enslaved black woman in 1834 and led a massacre of indigenous women and children during a battle in Nebraska in 1855. He then forced the survivors to walk barefoot 140 miles, the distance between Seattle and Vancouver.

“Once I learned that I became alarmed that we had named a channel after a person who had committed these crimes. After speaking with many people it was clear Henry Cayou would be a much better representative. He was a bridge between cultures, he was half European and half Native American and he walked in both worlds. He served on county council for 29 years and incorporated Friday Harbor. He was a fisherman, had a 500 acre farm, a boatyard on Decatur, and built a steamer in 1903. Every time I looked out at the channel I could see Henry’s steamer passing by. Everything came together like it was supposed to happen. “

On Sunday, three generations of the Cayou family come together to share food and gifts with other Native American families that remain rooted in the islands as well as the Orcas community. In both English and their native language they spoke about “grandpa Henry” and the importance of traditions, reminding the children present to remember this day.

Although nearly half of the population of the San Juan Islands was Native American a century ago, they have been omitted from geographic names and local history books. Today’s event is a breakthrough in bringing all islanders together recognizing and celebrating the San Juan Islands’ Native American first families.