Snoqualmie Tribe remembers honorary member, elder

Published 4:08 pm Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Harriet Turner was a beloved elder and honorary Snoqualmie Indian Tribe member. She died June 14.

Along with her lifelong support and interest in her community, Turner was pivotal in the Snoqualmie Tribe’s re-recognition by the federal government in 1997, which was finalized in 1999.

She also supported the Tribe’s efforts in protecting Snoqualmie Falls.

Turner had a passion for history and anthropology, especially that of the Snoqualmie Tribe. In the 1970s she interviewed several tribal elders and wrote a book “Ethnozoology of the Snoqualmie” which was published in 1976.  The research she conducted and subsequently published was instrumental in the tribe’s re-recognition.

In 1999, the Snoqualmie received re-recognition based on evidence that they had maintained a continuous community from historical times to present, helped in part by Harriet’s work.

Turner was born in Seattle in 1920, and lived there for most of her life.  She attended Roosevelt High School and the University of Washington, where she received a master’s degree in anthropology.

She is preceded in death by her parents Charles and Stella Turner.

She is survived by her brother, Charles Turner of Seattle and her daughter, Diana Turner and a granddaughter, of Sequim.