The Duenas Brothers Are Back at it Again!

The Duenas Brothers Are Back at it Again!

By Puyallup Tribal News Staff

Taking a drive through the Puyallup Reservation just got a little brighter. A collection of silver metal utility boxes now showcase Coast Salish art and language.

On Monday, the Duenas brothers – Chris, Anthony and Daniel – unveiled their new designs featured on utility boxes around the Emerald Queen Casino and East 32nd Street, right off Portland Avenue. They will also have a box at Fireman’s Park in Tacoma. Not only do they get to share a piece of their creative side but they are able to “bring our tribe’s culture back to this area,” said Anthony Duenas.

This has rung especially true over the last couple of years. The brothers, who are Puyallup Tribal Members, have added some of the eye-catching designs in the adjacent Emerald Queen Casino. They have put their mark on this side of Tacoma for years to come.

The brothers worked with the city of Tacoma make this project happen. They hope to do more projects. As Chris Duenas said “there’s a lot of room for more art.”

The utility boxes are wrapped with printed art on a vinyl sticker with the Duenas brothers’ designs that they worked on together. They worked through a lot of the design work via group chat and were able to nail down a design that incorporated all of their skills.

Next time you’re driving around the tribe take a look and see the story being told.

There is one more utility box that goes with this series on the corner before the on-ramp that is expected to be finished this week, so stay tuned for more to come and check out the Twulshootseed website at www.puyalluptriballanguage.org/. Coming soon: a video that will go into more detail about this and future projects to come.

There’s no doubt you’ll see more from the Duenas brothers as they do their part in the revitalization of the Puyallup Tribe’s language and art.