Imagine there was a city named in your honor—and you didn’t like it at all. That is exactly what happened to the man whose name was given to Seattle. His real name was Si'ahl, and he belonged to two Indigenous peoples—the Duwamish and the Suquamish—who had lived on this land long before the first settlers arrived by ship. Most remarkably, the friendship between Chief Si'ahl and a kind doctor helped transform possible hostility into peaceful coexistence between two very different peoples.
A Name That Was Not Meant to Be Spoken
The people of Si'ahl held an ancient belief: a person’s name should not be spoken loudly or frequently after their death, because this disturbs their spirit and prevents them from passing on peacefully. So when settlers decided to name an entire city after the chief, it was not a gift to him so much as an inconvenience.
There is a charming urban legend—historians debate how truthful it is, but it has been passed down from generation to generation—that the chief asked the settlers to pay him a small amount of money every time his name was spoken aloud, since his spirit would be “disturbed” a little more than usual. Imagine that: the city wanted to pay the chief a compliment, but it turned out almost like an awkward prank!
The Doctor Who Learned Another Language for Friendship
But the most important part of this story is not the name—it is the man who made peaceful coexistence between the two peoples possible. His name was David Maynard, but everyone simply called him Doc Maynard. He was a physician and one of the first settlers to truly befriend the local people.
Maynard did not merely trade with Indigenous people—he learned Chinook, a language spoken by both settlers and Native peoples of the Northwest, so that he could understand Si'ahl without interpreters. He treated members of the Duwamish community when they were sick and treated them with respect rather than condescension, unlike many others at the time.
Because of this friendship, Si'ahl agreed to let the city bear his name—as a sign of respect for the settlers, rather than a cause for conflict. It was a genuine gift, because in many other parts of America, relations between Indigenous peoples and newcomers ended far more sadly.
The Princess Who Stayed in Her Father’s City
Chief Si'ahl had a daughter whom the settlers nicknamed Princess Angeline; her real name was Kikisoblu. Unlike many other Indigenous people whom the authorities forced to leave the city, Angeline continued to live in Seattle, in a small house by the shore of the bay.
She became a kind of living bridge between two worlds: she sold the settlers baskets she had woven herself, spoke with artists and photographers, and helped many city residents see Indigenous people not as strangers but as neighbors. The famous photographer Edward Curtis took one of her most celebrated portraits, and the image can still be found today in museums and books about the city’s history.
| Person | Role in the City’s History |
|---|---|
| Chief Si'ahl | Leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples |
| Doc Maynard | Physician, Si'ahl’s friend, and intermediary between the peoples |
| Princess Angeline (Kikisoblu) | The chief’s daughter, who remained in the city and symbolized peaceful coexistence |
The Friendship That Built a City
When we look at a map and see the name “Seattle,” we rarely think about the real story of friendship, respect, and even a small inconvenience for the person after whom the city was named. The city was built not only with boards, bricks, and rails—it was built by people who managed to listen to one another despite their different languages and customs.
The story of Doc Maynard and Chief Si'ahl reminds us of something simple: real cities do not begin with houses, but with friendships between people who choose to trust one another, even when they initially seem completely different.
