Compass

The purpose of this blog is to uncover and explore diverse aspects of the rich histories surrounding the environment, people, and city of Everett, Washington and its surrounding areas. It's been created as part of a research project for the English 472: Ecology Issues and Nature Writing course at WSU. It is an extension of a paper I wrote analyzing historical discourses surrounding the origins of Everett, the early interactions between Euro-Americans and Native tribes, the roots of Everett's identity, and its conceptions of the natural environment.

In my paper, I looked at how early Native discourses reflected their perceptions of Everett's environment and natural landscape as a creative collaborator and sacred sustainer of life. Comparatively, I examined how the discourses of the early Everett Euro-American explorers and settlers imagined the environment as a separate, raw source of industry and progress. I then looked at the events surrounding the removal of the area's Native tribes from their ancestral lands, the creation of the Tulalip Tribes, the rise of the city of Everett, and the early efforts to disperse traditional Native discourses via cultural assimilation. I feel that the white settlers' view of the area's Native population as a part of the environment, to be manipulated, removed, or civilized as they deemed necessary, is reflective of their overall view of the natural landscape.

Although "New Maps of Everett" is an extension of this paper, I also intend for it to have a life of its own. I hope to include much of the information I uncovered in my research that didn't directly relate to the focus of my paper, and take a look at Everett's history in a more informal way. I also plan to expand my scope to Everett's past, present, and future, as well as make some personal connections. My main assertion through this blog is that history is a collection of discourses, not one linear narrative as we are often taught, and that uncovering, retaining, and analyzing these discourses is important, as they inform our cultural identities, our perceptions of the moment, and our future momentum -- as well as have a profound impact on our environment. It is important for each of us to think critically about the origins of our regional identities and local ideologies, in order to better understand who we are and to decide who we want to be. My hope is that my work here will not only inspire the residents of Everett to re-imagine their city and environment, but also that readers outside of the region will be inspired to take a closer look at the histories of their hometowns.