National exhibit showcases art of Makah and other tribes; Thunderbird masks inspired the Seahawks' logo

The Seattle Seahawks will attract worldwide attention in the Super Bowl.

But some fans won't be aware that the team's logo was inspired by Northwest Indian art.

While there is no such bird as a seahawk, some say the team's logo resembles the mythical thunderbird of the Makah tribe on the Olympic Peninsula and other tribes along the west coast of the U.S. and British Columbia. Visitors can judge for themselves at an exhibit opening today at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit, "Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life along the North Pacific Coast," features ceremonial and everyday objects used by Indian tribes from Washington to Alaska.

Among the items displayed are wooden masks representing the thunderbird, the mythical creature that symbolizes power and prestige.

Dave Sones, the Makah's vice chairman, laughs off any notion that the Seahawk logo is directly connected to the tribe, but says it resembles Indian art common in the region.

"We're pretty proud Seahawk fans," he said.

Sones, who is in Washington, D.C., for the exhibit opening, said he hopes the exhibit brings greater awareness of all the tribes represented. Besides the Makah, the exhibit features the Coast Salish tribes in Washington state, the Tlingit in Alaska, and eight tribes from British Columbia. .

"Hopefully people will recognize it and come out to our neck of the woods and buy more work from our native artists," he said. "There's talent everywhere in the Northwest, from Vancouver Island to Vancouver, Wash., and out to the Coast."

Raising awareness of the tribes' contributions is a major goal of the exhibit, which runs through Jan. 2, 2007, said W. Richard West Jr., the museum's founding director.

"The exhibit shows how, in a contemporary sense, Northwest Native Americans listen to their ancestors. They take from this material the values that guide their lives even today," said West, a member of the Southern Cheyenne tribe.

Tribal members participated throughout the process and played a key role in everything from choosing the objects to the written commentary that accompanies the displays, West said. Tribal musicians, dancers and story tellers also participate in the exhibit, which is designed to be interactive.

The event showcases more than 400 ceremonial and everyday objects — from ceremonial wooden masks to ladles shaped from sheep horns — along with commentary from tribal representatives.

"Although a lot of these are very decorative or artsy, they were used every day. Everything interconnects," said Marilyn Jones of Suquamish, Kitsap County, a member of the Suquamish tribe and one of the exhibit's curators. The exhibit includes a century-old wooden dugout canoe made by the Duwamish.