Alki: Birthplace of Seattle

When a party of settlers from Illinois, led by Arthur Denny, landed at Seattle's Alki Point on November 13th, 1851, the women were literally wailing (such is the powerful effect of Puget Sound weather on newcomers' emotions). The beach front, so to speak, was a dark and somber setting, shrouded in mist and rain and generally bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the French Riviera. Here the settlers would begin a not-always-peaceful co-existence with the native Duwamish people. Filmmaker B. J. Bullert has assembled an interesting overview of this meeting of disparate cultures, interweaving interviews with Brewster Denny (a pioneer descendant), James Rasmussen (descendant of Chief Seattle) and historian David Buerge with archival photos and local footage. More interesting for its examination of the interaction between settlers and natives than as a comprehensive history of the birth of Seattle, the film ends on a wonderfully stirring note, with the haunting words of Chief Seattle on the permanence of native culture even in the face of destruction. Recommended, particularly for Pacific Northwest collections. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)