Steelhead mural brings Siletz design to 13th Street

A leaping steelhead now fills a once-blank wall along 13th Street. It is a fish familiar to local anglers, and its body is filled with a pattern that has been woven into Siletz basket caps for generations.

Erin J. Case, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, began painting the mural last weekend on the east-facing side of the Chiseled Spirit building behind the Dizzy Hen.

By Wednesday afternoon, the fish was largely complete, and Case was adding the final details, including the word “Tin-sli,” which is Athabascan for steelhead.

“I think it’s just a huge representation, almost an honor to have it on a wall and representing us as a people,” Case said.

The project came from Dave Alba, who owns the building that houses the Dizzy Hen on the corner of Main and 13th. Alba said the wall across 13th Street always struck him as an opportunity.

“I’ve always wanted something up on here,” Alba said. “It just felt like a big blank slate.”

The timing felt right to him because of what is already happening on 13th Street. The city has added decorative lights and lamp posts, and the street has been the site of block parties. Alba said public activity on that stretch has grown a lot.

Case said his first thought for the fish was salmon but they chose the steelhead at Alba’s suggestion. Case said the fish carries meaning on both sides of the region’s history. Siletz people have fished and netted steelhead for generations, and many of today’s residents head up the Siletz and other rivers to catch them.

“It’s a good representation of both sides,” Case said.

He described the fish as a first food for his people and also something everyone fishing the rivers today can appreciate.

Alba said that shared appeal is the point. He often sees local anglers fishing for steelhead.

“It’s like an anchor image that appeals to everyone,” he said.

Alba does not have Native heritage — his background includes Filipino and Irish. But he set out specifically to bring Native representation to downtown Philomath. That goal comes from his activism, which includes work with Luhui Whitebear of Oregon State University’s Indigenous studies program, who helped connect him with Case.

“It’s important to me that to get the general public engaged in Indigenous issues, they first need to recognize that the people are here,” Alba said.

Alba said history has often tried to make Indigenous people invisible, as though they were a conquered people who are gone. Public art can be a starting point for changing that, he said, and a way to open conversations about what community members owe neighboring Native communities.

Case said he has no worries about putting traditional designs on a commercial wall. Basket cap patterns are common across the region, he said.

“If you go to Siletz, there’s basket cap designs on every building,” Case said. “It’s just a representation of that area and the people that have been in the area.”

Many of the designs are recognized across tribes from northern California to southern Washington. Case pointed to examples such as the sturgeon, the frog’s foot and the snake’s mouth. Names can vary from place to place, he said, but the patterns are widely understood in this region. 

Case is not relying on a projector or grid lines to scale up his design. He begins by sketching in a digital art studio app on an iPad, where he refines the lines, adds color and fills in the patterns. He then moves the finished digital piece to his laptop and loads it into a headset.

Software built for murals lets Case place the image on the wall and anchor it there, so he sees it overlaid on the surface as he works. The image can be scaled to any size, “five stories high if you wanted to,” he said, as long as the file is large enough to avoid pixelation. He wears the headset while climbing up and down ladders and said he can still see everything around him clearly.

Case said his girlfriend introduced him to the technology. He first used it on a mural at the Siletz Community Health Clinic in Lincoln City — a project covered three walls.

He does not consider the technology to be any sort of shortcut. The original artwork is still his, he said. The headset only handles the transfer.

The 13th Street steelhead is Case’s 10th mural. His earlier work includes pieces in Medford, Salem, Portland and Lincoln City, as well as the mural at the clinic, which highlights traditional designs, cultural respect and wellness while serving as a tribal and community centerpiece. He may take on a project in Eugene soon.

To help pay for the mural, Alba said he received funding through the city’s façade grant program. Alba, who provided a matching amount, said he asked city staff to process the request quickly so Case could paint before the fall rains.

“The main thing was to get this done before the weather,” Alba said.

Jason Leonard, who owns the Chiseled Spirit building, approved the project through the city, Alba said. The concrete wall was peeling, and Leonard had recently paid for a fresh base coat. That was another reason Alba wanted to move quickly.

The finished mural will join other recent changes along 13th Street, including a new patio and brewery facility across the street at Dirt Road.

There is no dedication date yet, but Alba has ideas. One is a “first foods night” at the Dizzy Hen featuring Indigenous foods and possibly a guest chef. Alba said the event could also highlight a related effort, such as Whitebear’s work with the Siletz on water quality. That way the event would combine education and awareness with a celebration of the mural.

“And we can serve steelhead,” Alba said.