Beating a steady boom-boom, boom-boom on wide, shallow drums, Duwamish men, women and children sang to more than 100 people crammed onto Admiral Viewpoint late Friday afternoon for the dedication of the new Duwamish story pole.

The drummers - eight adults and eight youngsters - wore cedar bark headbands. The men wore cedar vests over their white shirts.

Among the drummers was Cecile Hansen, chairwoman of the Duwamish Tribe, who wore a traditional conical hat and a sheer black shawl stitched with glittering Indian symbols.

Hansen told the crowd tears came to her eyes when the new 25-foot-tall story pole was put up.

"It's so significant to the history of Seattle," Hansen said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Mayor Greg Nickels noted the mouth of the Duwamish River just down the hill had been an Indian gathering place and trading center for hundreds of years before white pioneers came.

"Thank you for the welcome your ancestors gave to the settlers," the mayor told Duwamish tribal members.

West Seattle's newest landmark was the idea five years ago of Admiral District residents and advocates Dennis Ross and Al Rousseau with backing from the Admiral Community Council (now called the Admiral Neighborhood Association).

The totem pole that used to stand at the viewpoint was infested with carpenter ants, to the extent the pole couldn't be repaired.

Whatever was to replace the old totem pole, the Admiral residents wanted two themes reflected in the artwork.

It had to have a local tie, Ross said, and it should honor the Duwamish people.

The Admiral Community Council got a neighborhood matching grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods to hire an artist. The community council put out a call for artists and selected Michael Halady, a Duwamish woodcarver from Port Orchard.

"This was my first big project," Halady told the crowd. "It makes my heart happy to see it standing here."

As they sang to the beat of the drums, the performers held up their arms in a giving gesture, like the pope does, with elbows forward and palms back. They moved their arms in time to the music as they sang, in the Duwamish language, "You have done us good by what you have given."

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.