Henry Cayou

Henry Cayou (c. 1869 - March 31, 1959) was a Coast Salish businessman and politician who was one of the first Native elected officials in Washington state. He was a County Commissioner for San Juan County for 29 years and served one term in the Washington House of Representatives.

Life Cayou was born on Orcas Island, one of Washington's San Juan Islands, in 1869. His mother was Native American, from the unrecognized Mitchell Bay Band (a community of Northern Straits Salish speakers), and his father was of French descent.

Cayou first entered politics in 1897 as a road supervisor. In 1901 he became the local agent for the Chemawa Indian School. In 1902, he was made postmaster of Decatur Island. In 1906, he won election to the San Juan County Board of Commissioners, a position he would hold for 29 years. At the time of his election, Native people did not have a guaranteed right to vote. He lost the election with 388 votes to his opponent's 490. He ran for the House again in 1938, citing opposition to increased taxes as his reason for entering the race, and lost in the general election. 1940 marked his third attempt at entering the house. He won election along with fellow Republican Grant Sisson in an election decided by absentee ballots. He lost reelection in 1942 to Democrat Violet Boede in another close race.

Cayou was involved in multiple near-death experiences during his life. On December 25, 1895, he and his family were involved in a capsize off the coast of Orcas Island and had to be rescued. On March 6, 1911, he suffered a skull fracture in an freak explosion when he accidentally caused a spark close to an open can of gasoline. He died on March 31, 1959, in Bellingham, Washington. At the time of the proposal, the channel was named "Harney Channel" after William S. Harney, a general in the United States Army who led multiple massacres of Native people during his career, including one instance where he engaged in fake peace talks to gain the community's trust. Even during his time, Harney was described by newspapers as a "monster." On July 5, 2022, the Board unanimously approved the proposal, attributing its success to "a substantial community organizing effort from San Juan County residents."