As Indigenous People’s Day draws nearer, challenge yourself to learn about Native communities in your region.
Part three in a four-part series amplifying and celebrating Indigenous people in the region. The series is in collaboration with the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
So much of many people’s lives are spent in a five-, maybe 10-mile radius from their homes — especially now that so many people are working from home. It’s also no secret that people tend to live in neighborhoods with people who have similar incomes, levels of education, and who often look like them. This can easily isolate us all from identities, cultures and community members that would enrich our lives and give us all a broader perspective of the world.
As Indigenous People’s Day draws nearer (it’s Mon., Oct. 14), we challenge you all to leave your bubble to celebrate, and learn about Native communities, near and far. One way of doing this is exploring the different Native art museums, cultural centers, and landmarks in the region.
Enjoy the ferry ride to Kitsap County, and onto the Suquamish Reservation to go visit the Suquamish Museum. As you walk in, a multimedia presentation titled “Ancient Shores, Changing Tides” plays. Traditional canoe craftsmanship can be observed up close, traditional basketry is on display, and a timeline of Suquamish history wraps around the walls of the museum, teaching the living culture and history of the Suquamish Tribe.
If you are interested in honoring Chief Seattle – or siʔaɬ, pronounced ‘See-Ahlth’ in the Lushootseed language – leader of the Suquamish Tribe and allied nations when settlers arrived, his gravesite is just a two-minute walk from the museum. The large marble headstone has 12-foot tall, magnificently carved, cedar story poles on either side of it.
If you need to stay within Seattle city limits, The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture on the campus of the University of Washington is a great option. The “Our Material World” exhibit, co-curated by Dr. Marata Tamaira, Māori (Ngāti Tūwharetoa Tribe), looks into “how Native peoples across Washington state are using the archaeological record to revitalize traditional food practices today, and more.”
There is also an entire “Northwest Native Art” exhibit that was co-curated by six Pacific Northwest Native women, Betty Pasco (Suquamish), Pat Courtney Gold (Wasco), Evelyn Vanderhoop (Haida), Lou-ann Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw), Alison Marks (Tlingit), and RYAN! Feddersen (Okanogan and Lakes). Each artist answered the question, “What is your artistic heritage?” for each of their contributions to the exhibit.
While you’re there you can stop at Off The Rez Cafe for some Indian tacos, a wild rice bowl, and you can even get frybread!
There’s also the Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center, the Colville Tribal Museum, Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, The Carnegie Museum, which is now run by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the Makah Museum, the Yakama Nation Museum and Cultural Center, and so many more.
If instead you’d like to explore the outdoors, there’s Snoqualmie Falls, the 270-foot waterfall and surrounding forest and lush ferns that draws over a million visitors a year is an option. It is sacred to the Snoqualmie Tribe as their place of creation, and where they gather to connect in ceremony and prayer to their ancestors and their creator. In order to prevent degradation of their ancestral lands from the many visitors, the Snoqualmie ask that visitors sign the pledge to respect, restore, and protect Snoqualmie lands.
The Kukutali Preserve is a great option as well for hiking and beautiful views among the 83 acres of land on the Swinomish Reservation. It is the first Tribal State Park in the history of the United States to be co-owned and jointly managed by a federally recognized Native nation and a state government.
Wherever you decide to go – museums, cultural centers, landmarks – it’s important to keep in mind that what settler society perceives as inanimate objects or artifacts are seen by most Native cultures as living. While you’re there, take the initiative to learn about the first people of the place, experience the lands in a mindful way, and encourage others to do the same. Miigwech.
