Qumni Kaltcuik - Newport, OR
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 44° 38.191 W 124° 03.776
10T E 415696 N 4943122
This abstract sculpture representative of whale bones is located near Don Davis park in Newport, Oregon.
Waymark Code: WMD0Y2
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 11/04/2011
Views: 4
Artist and poet
Lon Brusselback created this sculpture as a tribute to the rich legacy of the whales that migrate just off shore here at Nye Beach which have been part of life here for centuries, but are now endangered.
The sculpture consists of whale bones, some set at sharp perpendicular angles and others lying along the ground set amid the sand and dune grass that seems to be their natural resting place.
There are two stones with engraved inscriptions on them, one from the Siletz Indians who inhabited these shores, and one from a marine biologist at Oregon State University.
Although Lon Brusselback grew up in the land-locked midwest of the United States, he settled here in Newport on Oregon's scenic coast in 1993. He serves on the Newport City Council and his wife, Wendy Engler,, operates a nearby wine shop.
Lon is also a poet and has published his work undr the title, Red Shirts.
Whale have been here
forever. Their flesh has fed the
people and been the occasion
for celebration and feasting.
Their bones have been made
into tools and objects of status
and ceremonial importance.
The sighting of a whale still
thrills all who see it.
May it always be so!
Robert Keatta
Cultural Resources Director
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
We made them endangered.
Now we must discover their needs and
change our behavior to assure their survival
Bruce Mat
OSU Whale Biologist