Statues from Nisqually Tribe vandalized at entrance to new state park
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- Tribe reports New Year’s Eve vandalism that toppled and damaged four welcome figures.
- The cost to replace the welcome figures is about $24,000
- The land has major cultural significance to the Nisqually Tribe
The Nisqually Indian Tribe confirmed in a news release on Jan. 8 that welcome figures were vandalized near the entrance of Nisqually State Park.
Nisqually Tribe member William Frank III said on social media that the welcome figures were vandalized on New Year’s Eve. Photos show the figures were knocked over from their standing positions, causing damage to the lower half and feet of all four statues.
According to his Facebook post from Jan. 1, the welcome figures were destroyed by vandalism the night before.
“It is absolutely disturbing and heartbreaking, but what this act of hate doesn’t do is bring fear or chaos,” he said. “This is Washington in 2026. Our presence and our light shines on darkness and casts it forward. This is why we have to keep telling our story now more than ever.”
In a video on Facebook, he said the situation is unfortunate and sad, and that people took the time to design and make the figures. Welcome figures used to stand outside longhouses to welcome people to their territory, The Olympian previously reported.
A State Parks spokesperson confirmed that the vandalism is being investigated by tribal police.
Lisa Breckenridge with Nisqually Parks told The Olympian that the figures were installed in October and are made of high-density foam with a clear coat hard shell. She said the tribe provided the artwork, including the Chief Leschi statue in the middle, salmon and the four damaged figures. She said the cost to replace them is about $24,000.
In the tribe’s release, Chairman Ken Choke said the park is the site of a historic partnership that’s blooming between Washington State Parks and the tribe to help share the tribe’s history and the beauty of the park, which is located near Eatonville.
Tribal council member Leighanna Scott said the tribe is resilient, and they won’t let the vandalism be the story of “something that is beautiful.” According to the release, the figures were created by James Delacruz and Taylor Wily Krise and were located in the new roundabout at the park’s entrance on state Route 7. The figures are currently being stored in a safe location until the tribe decides next steps.
“We knew this would be a high visibility roundabout,” Shannon Iyall, Nisqually Parks Commission Chairman, said in the release.
Iyall said that they wanted visitors ”to know that they are traveling in our ancestral homeland and that we welcome them. That was why we installed welcome figures in the roundabout.” “We chose the figures of women to be around the figure of Leschi in the center to symbolize the resilience of our tribe to survive and thrive,” Iyall said. “The salmon represent all the work our tribe has done to protect and restore salmon in this watershed.”
Andreya Squally, member of the Nisqually Parks Commission, said the project has been about having people come and share in the history of Chief Leschi and his ancestral lands, and the massacre of their people that occurred there.
The Olympian previously reported that the development of Nisqually State Park has been in the works for nearly four decades. It’s the first time a local tribe has been made a serious partner in the development of a new park. The land has major cultural significance to the Nisqually Tribe, and the waterways are vital to salmon populations. The park is still closed for construction of a new administration building, a trail to the Nisqually River and Ohop Creek, and the roundabout outside the park entrance, according to the release. Nisqually artwork is installed throughout the park, and by later in 2026, there will be trails and roads, an interpretive center, picnic areas and more.
This story was originally published January 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Statues from Nisqually Tribe vandalized at entrance to new state park."
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