Why "New Maps"?

"Empire originates in the perception of place. Maps are the tools of perception, charting land, sea, and sky -- just as they map our imaginations."

--Chellis Glendinning, Off the Map.



In her book Off the Map, ecofeminist Chellis Glendinning uses maps and map making as a central metaphor for the ways in which a culture creates and reinforces their perceptions of their environment, and the ways these perceptions color their interactions with the physical world. Through maps, images, stories, histories, traditions, conversations, school work, news media, advertising, etc. we develop an internal "map" of what a place is like -- what it was, what it is, what it will be. This culturally created "envrironmental imagination" is grafted on to the natural world around us, and provides our assumptions about the way things are.

Growing up in the area, my "map" of Everett looked something like this: Everett is a medium sized city, not quite as interesting or exciting as Seattle. Pretty much an extension of the I-5 corridor suburban sprawl. There are some old buildings, and I remember how bad the mills use to stink. Friends joked about the "aroma of Ever-Rot." A nice place. Pretty affordable to live in.

After my research, exploration of the area, and examination of histories, I live in a different place. On my new map, I can now see the Native hub of the Hibulb Village and its magnificent longhouse sitting in Legion Park. In the recreation of the waterfront as a modern, tourist friendly area, I can also see the myriad mills and smokestacks fueling a booming pioneer town, and the shores of a beach covered with the huts of the Snohomish people, harvesting the Sound. I see stories of adventure, frontier, imperalism, tradition, ancient culture, and the struggles and hopes of industrial modernity everywhere I look.

This is what I hope to share with you, dear reader. I like the idea of a "new map," a new perception of this place, being built through old stories and old maps -- by comparing them to who were are now, where we are now. Where we thought we were, anyway.

A lot of my information and observations may be old hat to residents and history buffs. I don't ever mean to imply that these histories are hidden or lost. All of this information is readily available at the library and on the internet. There are folks who have been doing magnificent work for decades to preserve the histories you see here -- the Everett Public Library and the Northwest History Room, the Tulalip Tribes and the Hibulb Cultural Center, as well as community colleges and Universities in the region. Those are just the couple that immediately spring to mind.

But, honestly, even after spending all of my life here, I've never really been aware of any of these histories. In talking with friends and family while researching this project, I realized most people here haven't been taught the rich culture and history of the Everett area. I hope, in some small way, to change that. And for those outside of the Everett area, I hope to inspire you to build some new maps of your home ... in that way the local extends to the national and the international.

I'd also appreciate any feedback in the form of comments -- corrections, observations, disputes, anecdotes, opinions, advice -- I'm by no means a history expert, and I'm still in the process of discovery. This is also my first blog, so I'm getting used to this whole thing. Finally, I've done my very best to make fair and academic use of the copyright protected text and images here. I do my best to reference and source the content here. No infringement is intended. If I overstep my bounds, let me know.

Please take some time to look around, to explore the various posts and links, and to think about what Everett means to you -- how you imagine the city, the environment. Consider the ghosts of the past all around you -- what they mean to the present, and the future. See if any "new maps" emerge.


"Thus History begins once again." -- Pablo Neruda

"You are here." -- Chellis Glendinning