Lita Sheldon, a Tulalip tribal member, has devoted most of her adult life to the preservation of the history and culture of local native Americans. While employed by the Tulalip Tribes, she managed the production of several videos capturing tribal culture and traditions through oral histories and archived photos. Her video credits include the production of the Tulalip History Series, Tulalip oral biographical interviews, the Lushootseed Language series, and Northwest Indian News (2004-2009).

Now, working with local historians David Dilgard and Margaret Riddle, Sheldon’s production company, Quil Ceda Media, is the driving force behind a vivid documentary showcasing the life and important contributions of William Shelton.

William Shelton was born in 1868, at a time when Coast Salish culture and traditions were being destroyed by European contact and disease. He had an essential role in saving the traditions and language of the Tulalip people by writing down the stories and legends of the tribes of the Puget Sound as well as creating story poles depicting the animals, legends and spirit quests from these stories.

Shelton's first story pole was 60 feet high and erected in 1913 on the Tulalip reservation. He went on to make poles for other communities as far away as Pennsylvania. He was completing the story pole that stood on the Capitol Campus in Olympia, WA at the time of his death in 1938.

As one of the few Indians of his generation who avoided being sent to boarding school, Shelton maintained his proficiency in Lushootseed, the native language, even as he became fluent in English. He became an effective ambassador for the native population and helped ensure the survival of Coast Salish culture on the reservation.

Quil Ceda Media has produced a ten-minute preview of the William Shelton documentary, focusing on the first story pole he carved, titled "William Shelton and the Sklaletut Pole." This short film received awards for Best Documentary Short and Best Overall Film at the Hibulb Cultural Center 2013 Film Festival.

To continue the project, the production team, which includes executive producer Sheldon, writers and videographers Jeff and Lynn Boice, and interviewer/narrator JD Mowrer, has established a KickStarter page to raise funds. The goal is to raise $30,000 to complete filming and editing; additional money will be needed to pay for license fees, the use of archive photographs and distribution.

The site’s page states, “Our goal is to have a broadcast quality film that can be aired on TV stations and small independent theaters, ultimately PBS or the History Channel. We need funding to conduct more interviews, provide additional footage of the poles as they exist today, and to cover costs of editing, post production, and securing distribution rights.”

The producers are also seeking to talk with William Shelton’s descendants and others who have memories of the legendary carver and leader.

“Those who knew or met William Shelton when they were children would be in their 80s or 90s now,” according to the website. “So a big challenge will be to get them to talk on camera while this is possible.”

The KickStarter crowdfunding vehicle is low-risk for contributors, since none of the pledged donations are fulfilled unless the project meets its stated goal within the allotted time frame. Visit www.kickstarter.com.

 

 Photos courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry and the Everett Public Library.

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