The “Our Fisherman, Our Guardian” statue was vandalized and needs repairs.
The statue sits along the shoreline of Austin Park at txʷaalqəł Estuary at 4009 Harborview Dr. in Gig Harbor. The canoe on its right side was found on the ground Tuesday morning. The city of Gig Harbor posted the news on Facebook.
“Since there was no other signs of damage, we hypothesize this could’ve been someone attempting to climb the art,” City Administrator Katrina Knuston told the Gateway.
“Our Fisherman, Our Guardian” is a sculpted redwood guardian that faces the water to welcome those arriving by sea.
The statue is a visual representation of the city, honoring the first people who lived in the area, the Swift Water band of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, who lived on the Gig Harbor waterfront for centuries.
The 14-foot-tall sculpture is of a fisherman, in a cedar-woven hat, between two canoes. The salmon the fisherman holds is copper with glass inlays, Guy Capoeman, the artist of the statue and the Quinault Nation president, previously told The Gateway.