Seahawks Archives - Tulalip News

Celebrating the Super Bowl Champs

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

“This year’s Seahawks team brought all of Seattle together with the strongest, loudest, and most united spirit I’ve ever seen,” Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said. “And they delivered in historic fashion, beating the Patriots and bringing a second Lombardi Trophy home to Seattle. Now it’s time to celebrate.”

When the Seahawks secured their second Super Bowl championship, with a dominant 29-13 win over the Patriots, the celebration spread well beyond the Seattle skyline and into Coast Salish communities throughout the region. From living rooms and community centers to family watch parties, Native Seahawks fans came together to celebrate their team that holds a special place within the culture.

A Familiar Symbol

The Seahawks logo, inspired by Northwest Coast formline art, has been embraced by Coast Salish people for decades. Its bold lines and distinctive eye mirror artistic traditions that have been passed down through generations. Across Coast Salish territory, the logo appears in beadwork, carvings, clothing, and contemporary artwork, often reinterpreted in ways that honor family, culture, and community.

Rather than being seen as a distant sports brand, the Seahawk has become something recognizable and personal. For many families, supporting the Seahawks has become a tradition, one passed down alongside stories, teachings, and time spent together on game days.

“My dad and I moved to the Seattle area in 1991, but he had already been rooting for the Seahawks since their conception in 1976,” recalled Seahawks fanatic and devout 12^th Man member Trisha Montero. “My dad took me to my first Seahawks game in 1993, when they still played in the Kingdome. I became a fan for life that day.

“My dad has been a season ticket holder since 1995. It’s impossible to say how many games we’ve been to, but what I can say for certain is we are truly immersed in everything Seahawks,” she continued. “A lot of people recognize my dad come game days for his legendary conch shell. He’s been bringing it to games for over 30 years. Fox Sports even tracked him down and labeled him a Seattle Seahawks super fan in a playoff commercial they ran this past season.

“I am just so proud of our Seahawks for winning the Super Bowl, again my dad and I are loud and proud and will bleed blue and green forever.”

Building Relationships, Not Just Branding

The Seahawks’ connection to Coast Salish tribes has also been shaped by meaningful partnerships, particularly with the Muckleshoot Tribe. At Lumen Field, Muckleshoot Plaza stands as a visible acknowledgment of Indigenous presence, featuring Coast Salish artwork, Lushootseed language, and imagery tied to the region’s original people.

“This artwork will not only inspire our communities but also educate them on the important history of the Native Americans in this region,” said Chuck Arnold, President of the Seattle Seahawks. “We look forward to a long and meaningful partnership for many years to come.”

Beyond the stadium, those partnerships extend into local communities through youth football camps, player visits, and outreach programs. These efforts have provided opportunities for Native youth to interact with Seahawks players, learn the game, and see themselves represented in spaces where Indigenous voices have not always been visible.

A Championship Felt at Home

As the Seahawks celebrated their Super Bowl LX win on the national stage, Coast Salish fans celebrated closer to home. Families gathered around televisions, elders and youth alike sharing in the excitement of the moment. For many, the victory was a reminder of how sports can bring people together, even those who don’t consider themselves among the devoted fan base.

“I don’t consider myself a football fan. I didn’t even watch the game,” admitted Tulalip tribal member Topo Jones. “But I could hear the fireworks going off in my neighborhood, which let me know the Seahawks were scoring a lot. Once people got to lighting off bombs and those huge cakes, I knew the Seahawks won. That’s cool, I guess.”

More Than a Team

In Coast Salish country, the Seahawks are intrinsically tied to the region’s modern-day story. They are woven into daily life, community pride, and cultural expression. As fans look back on an unforgettable 2025-2026 championship season, the celebrations will continue as a reflection of community connection, visibility, and shared success. Go Hawks!

Marysville Pilchuck football team welcomed by Seahawks

By Associated Press and KOMO News

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks welcomed the Marysville-Pilchuck High School football team to practice at their facility Tuesday following last week’s deadly shooting at the school.

Student Jaylen Fryberg opened fired at the school’s cafeteria on Friday, killing two students and injuring three others. Fryberg committed suicide.

Fryberg was a popular freshman who played football and was crowned homecoming royalty days before the shooting.

The Marysville-Pilchuck football team was scheduled to play against Oak Harbor high school in a district championship. After the shooting, Oak Harbor offered to take second place. On Monday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll invited both teams.

Carroll called Oak Harbor’s gesture “extraordinary,” adding “we wish that we could do something to ease the pain of all the people that have been troubled.”

Mike Colebrese, executive director of the WIAA, the governing body for all high school sports, says practicing at the VMAC, a professional football facility, does not violate any rules or regulations.

“There is no violation of association of rules and regulations, they’re simply practicing in a facility that the Seahawks are gracious enough to offer,” said Colbrese. “Out of every tragedy there has to be some healing, and part of that healing is making sure we are paying attention to the community and the kids and I think that’s the important part here.”

A Seahawks spokesperson says Oak Harbor will practice at their facility later this week. Both Marysville and Oak Harbor have playoff games this weekend.

Burke Museum Hopes To Bring Original Kwakwaka’wakw Seahawks Mask to Seattle

By Kelton Sears, Seattle Weekly

During the apex of Seahawks fever earlier this year, U.W. art students began researching the origins of the team’s logo. When they asked Burke Museum curator Robin K. Wright, she remembered a conversation she had with a past curator who identified the source as a photo in a 1950’s book of Northwest coastal art.

After a bit more research, students found the inspiration was a photo of a transformation eagle mask from the Kwakwaka’wakw—an indigenous tribe from British Columbia. After poking around some more, the director of the Hudson museum at the University of Maine revealed that the original mask was in their collection, and are now willing to lend the mask to the Burke for display in November.

The Burke Museum has launched a Power2Give campaign to pay for the conservation, insurance, and shipping of the mask. Those who donate will get an early look at the mask during the exhibit’s opening.

Until then, check out some amazing Kwakwaka’wakw dance:

Nike’s New Seattle Seahawks Uniforms Inspired by Native Totem Poles

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

This article was originally published on 4/5/2012

Nike made “new” uniforms for all 32 football teams in the NFL. In reality, they simply made technological advancements to material of the uniforms themselves, making them sleeker, tighter, and more strategically padded. As Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, told the USA Today, the jerseys are up to thirty percent lighter, they’re made with a four-way stretch that gives players a more contoured fit with less material for tacklers to grab, and there’s built-in padding in certain parts of the uniforms. “It’s extra layers where you need it and none where you don’t,” he told the USA Today. As for the actual look of the uniforms, most of the 32 teams in the leagues saw no discernible change in their logos, colors and designs…save for the Seattle Seahawks. USA Today reports that the Portland, Oregon-based Nike drew on design features from the team and company’s home in the Pacific Northwest, and were inspired by the rich Native history of the region. Specifically, Nike drew on the designs taken from totem poles, making the bird on the helmet come to a significant point on the back. Instead of the Seahawks taking an Indian name and image for their mascot and logo, they’re simply allowing themselves to be inspired by the history and heritage of Native peoples of their region. See for yourself below, and let us know what you think:

The Seahawks helmet was redesigned in 2012 themed off of a seahawk bird taken from Native American cutlure

The Seahawks helmet was redesigned in 2012 themed off of a seahawk bird taken from Native American culture

Indian Country Chooses Sides for Super Bowl XLVIII

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The beginning, middle and end of the 2013 season had plenty of ups, downs and surprises for Native American NFL fans.

For starters, the Rams’ Sam Bradford, Cherokee, lost his season in October to a torn ACL. But there’s good news. According to FanSided.com, Bradford was cleared by the team’s medical staff to run on the treadmill on Wednesday, and ESPN reported that Les Snead, the Rams’ general manager, remains committed to Bradford as the starting QB for the 2014 season.

A loss that Cherokee Nation fans could not recover from so quickly was the passing of Bud Adams. Adams, a Cherokee descent, was the founder of the Houston Oilers and owner of the Tennessee Titans who died in his Houston home at age 90.

On a happier note, Kansas City Chiefs backup QB Tyler Bray, citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, threw his first touchdown pass in the NFL while helping the Chiefs beat Green Bay 30-8. Who cares if it was a preseason game?

And speaking of Green Bay, don’t forget about the Native (and non-Native) Packers fans who braved freezing temperatures to make sure that the Washington Redskins did not get a warm welcome to Lambeau Field during the Packers home opener in September. Members of Wisconsin’s local chapter of Idle No More, various tribes, as well as local and national leaders led those demonstrations outside the stadium; perhaps achieving their own, personal dig at Dan Snyder’s decision to “Never — put that in CAPS” change the team’s name.

Protests against the nickname for the D.C. franchise started early and grew louder every week; many Natives protested at every away game for the ‘Redskins.’ This all became the fodder for a growing name-change debate; taking the Change the Mascot campaign from a grassroots organization to a national movement.

But, through the good and bad, the beginning and middle of the 2013 NFL season, the ending of the season was the most exciting and rewarding time for Indian Country.

The two most popular NFL franchises in Indian Country — the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos–will battle in the 48th Super Bowl — and Native fans are supporting them all the way.

“The most Native support used to be for the Dallas Cowboys,” said Ken Frost, Southern Ute, to ICTMN. “But it’s no longer America’s team.”

Frost said he’s been a hardcore Denver Bronco fan since he was a child. He’d holler and scream at the TV with his grandma. He said Natives in the West claim the Broncos because the team is in the “heart of Indian country” and close to several reservations.

Ken Frost tailgating at a Broncos game. Beside the “Broncos car” which has been around since the John Elway era. (Courtesy Kenny Frost)

It’s probably not a shock to hear that Frost picks Denver to prevail in the Super Bowl. “Peyton’s going to pick apart the Seattle defense,” he said over the phone. “Denver’s gonna win it. I think it’s gonna be around 37-23.”

Seahawk fans disagree.

“Alaskans support the Seahawks as if they are our team,” said Myrna Gardner, Tlingit Indian tribe, who flew into Seattle from Alaska to watch the NFC Championship game last week. “My love began when I was born. My whole family watched the Seahawks. I recall Steve Largent’s poster on the walls in the hallway at my parent’s house.”

“Being at the game, experiencing the power of the ’12th Man’ was a Bucket-list event,” said Gardner. “Representing Heinyaa Kwaan, ‘the water people from across the bay,’ was an honor,” she said.

Myrna Gardner and Debra Guerrero are Tlingit Haida Seahawks fans thrilled by the team’s NFC victory. (Courtesy Myrna Gardner)

Chuck James, Treasurer of Tulalip Tribes, has been a Seahawks season-ticket holder for more than 30 years. He and his wife, Illene, attended last Sunday’s playoff game as well, and expect Seattle to take home the Lombardi trophy next week.

“The Seahawks have always been a big part of our lives here on the reservation and they’ve inspired our young people to want to compete and win,” James told ICTMN.

“If you go to the Tulalip Tribes administration building before a game, you’ll see the excitement, with everyone wearing Seahawks gear and showing pride. We even have tribal members who design Seahawks gear that is sold in our casino resort gift shop,” he said.

“Win or lose, the Seahawks are our team and we’ll be there to support them,” James said.

Super Bowl Shuffle in Seattle: Fans Embrace Carver’s Dancing Seahawk

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

They call themselves the 12th Man — the rabid fans of the Seattle Seahawks who’ve made CenturyLink Field one of the NFL’s toughest arenas to play in. That was certainly the case when, on Sunday, the Seahawks defeated the San Francisco 49ers and in so doing punched a ticket to the Super Bowl.

In addition to “12” jerseys and t-shirts, the concept of the 12th Man now has an in-the-flesh personification with Native flair. Or an in-the-wood one, anyway: Chainsaw carver Jake Lucas of Bonney Lake, Washington, has created a six-foot-tall sculpture of a man-bird, wings outstretched, that has proven an instant fan favorite.

The carver with Spirit Warrior in the back of his pickup truck. Photos courtesy Jake Lucas.

Lucas has some Quinault and Chinook heritage — no more than one-eighth, by his reckoning — and recalls with fondness attending ceremonies and witnessing dances with his half-Native grandmother when he was younger. “I’ve always wanted to carve a Native American dancer,” he says, adding “I also wanted to do something unique to show my love for the team.” The two desires — to borrow a term from woodworking and ornithology — just dovetailed. It took Lucas about three weeks of 12-hour days to make the piece, which he calls Spirit Warrior.

The piece was created on Lucas’s own initiative, and hasn’t been endorsed by the Seahawks. But Lucas has been taking it to rallies in the back of his pickup truck, and says the fan response has been overwhelmingly positive. Additionally, he says that the Native American community has also expressed a great appreciation for the carving. Lucas says he doesn’t know where the piece will end up, but he hopes that the Seahawks or perhaps a local Tribal organization would be interested in acquiring it. He can be contacted through his website, chainsawart.org, where you can also see more exampes of the award-winning work he’s been creating since 2004.

Photos courtesy Jake Lucas

Chainsaw art honors 12th Man, Seahawks, Native culture

carvingblog-300x199 — Jacob Lucas’ chain saw art is show on Wednesday, January 15, 2014. The Bonney Lake artist spent more than three weeks creating the tribute to the Seattle Seahawks and the 12th Man. (Joshua Trujillo, seattlepi.com)

January 15, 2014 | By Joshua Trujillo

Seattle PI

Jacob Lucas has always been an artist. He has painted, worked with clay, blown glass, drawn and went to college for graphic design. But it is the magic he creates with a much less elegant tool that has been buzzing on social media and captured the attention of Seahawks fans recently.

Lucas spent more than three weeks finessing a Western red cedar log with his collection of 22 chainsaws. The stunning result of his work —a 7-foot-tall tribute to the Seahawks, the 12th Man and Native American culture — has been shared and “liked” online countless times.

“I’d like to see it on display in the CLink,” he said Wednesday after trucking the finely detailed creation to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, where the Seahawks train.

The Bonney Lake artist first noticed chainsaw art at the Puyallup Fair when he was 13. He saved up money and purchased a saw. Unfortunately, it was stolen about two weeks later.

He mostly forgot about the unique art form until his grandmother paid for him to attend a class a decade later.

Since then his skill with a STIHL has led to a full-time career turning logs into masterpieces.

Lucas has 20 carvings lining the main drag in Bridgeport, Wash., near Omak. The award-winning carver has also been commissioned to create custom carvings.

Lucas hopes to have his Seahawks carving on display Friday at a rally for the team.

Click through the gallery above to see the detail work he put into the carving. You can see more of his work on his website.

Visit seattlepi.com’s home page for more Seattle news. Contact Seattle photographer Joshua Trujillo at joshuatrujillo@seattlepi.com or on Twitter as @joshtrujillo.

Feeling our pain: Seattle named most miserable sports city in America

Forbes Magazine has named Seattle America's most miserable sports city for our lack of titles and loss of the Sonics. (AP image) — Forbes Magazine has named Seattle America’s most miserable sports city for our lack of titles and loss of the Sonics. (AP image)

BY JOSH KERNS on July 31, 2013

MyNorthwest.com

Whether it’s a decade of futility from the Mariners, the failed efforts to bring the NBA back to town or last season’s heart-breaking, season-ending Seahawks playoff loss in the final minutes to Atlanta, Seattle sports fans know misery. And now Forbes is making sure the rest of the country feels our pain, naming Seattle the most miserable sports city in America.

The annual ranking isn’t solely about absolute futility, Forbes says. Coming up short in the playoffs can cause even greater agony, like the Seahawks’ 2005 Super Bowl loss to Pittsburgh.

Writer Tom Van Riper came up with the list based on a misery index, giving the most misery points for the worst records in pro-sports championship round play. That includes the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals and NHL Finals. Teams then get fewer points for futility in preceding playoff rounds. All told, only major U.S. sports towns with at least 75 cumulative NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL seasons are eligible.

Close, but no cigar isn’t the only criteria. Van Riper also gives points for championship droughts, adding points based on how long it’s been since the last title (Seattle’s last was the Sonics in 1979, as the WNBA isn’t counted in his rankings.)

The index also gives bonus points for cities that lost a team to relocation. We certainly know how painful that is with the Sonics move to Oklahoma City.

The new rankings could spark plenty of arguments from fans in other cities who’ve certainly suffered more than their fair share. Atlanta comes in just behind Seattle, thanks to a regular pattern of playoff disappointment from the Braves, the Falcons frequent playoff losses and the city losing its NHL franchise twice.

Fans in Phoenix have experienced plenty of playoff pain with the NBA Suns making it to nine western conference finals and two NBA Finals without a title. In Buffalo, the faithful have suffered four Super Bowl losses by the Bills while the NHL Sabres have yet to win the Stanley Cup despite making the playoffs 29 times since 1973.

As they say, misery loves company. So I guess we can take some comfort knowing we’re not alone. And with Super Bowl hopes so high for the Seahawks, maybe we’ll get off the list by this time next year. Or at the very least, we can solidify our spot atop the index. We certainly spend plenty of time there. Seattle was most miserable in 2011, slipping to number two a year ago before reclaiming the top spot.

Forbes most miserable sports cities:

1. Seattle

2. Atlanta

3. Phoenix

4. Buffalo

5. San Diego

6. Cleveland

7. Kansas City

8. Houston

9. Washington, DC

10. Denver

Seahawks fans aim to break record for crowd noise in home opener

John Boyle, The Herald

Seahawks fans have long considered themselves one of the loudest fanbases in sports, now they’re out to prove it. A fan group known as Volume 12 has applied with Guinness World Records to measure the sound levels at Seattle’s Sept. 15 home opener against San Francisco. The goal is to break the Guinness record for “loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium” which was set in 2011 at a soccer match in Turkey.

In that game between rivals Galatasary and Fenerbahce, crowd noises were recorded at 131.76 decibels. Of course that doesn’t necessarily make that the loudest game in sports history, just the loudest with Guinness on hand to certify the achievement (is being loud an achievement?).

According to Seahawks.com, fans produce noise levels of 112 decibels (I’m sure the fact that it’s 112 and not 111 or 113 is purely a coincidence, right?), which if accurate means Seahawks fans have their work cut out for them come Sept.

We know that CenutryLink Field and the fans who fill it are extremely loud. This fall we’ll apparently find out if they are world record loud.