The salmon, central to Nimiipuu culture, are facing an extinction crisis due to aging dams and warming waters. Native grassroots organizers, elders, and Nez Perce tribal leaders called for the removal of the Snake River dams at this moving totem pole journey event.
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For the House of Tears Carvers, totem poles are more than masterful works of art — they’re a medium for storytelling, for raising consciousness, for healing. The group of artisans from the Lummi Nation, one of the original inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest, has for decades hauled its masterful works of art around the country to unite communities around issues of local and national concern.
This year, they’re taking a 25-foot, 5,000-pound totem pole all the way to the nation’s capital. Organizers are calling the journey the “Red Road to DC,” a two-week national tour that will begin July 14 in Washington state and culminate in Washington, DC. Along the way, the House of Tears Carvers plan to stop with the totem pole at a number of sites sacred to Indigenous peoples.
Their goal: To protect those sacred sites from the existential threats of the climate crisis and extractive industries — and to ensure tribal nations have a seat at the table when decisions affecting them are made.
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Join us at 5pm Pacific on Wednesday, June 30th for the first virtual event on the #RedRoadtoDC. Be sure to RSVP via zoom at this link to join us online
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The Natural History Museum (NHM) is a program of Not An Alternative, a non-profit organization and collective that works at the interaction of art, activism, cultural organizing and critical theory. Since launching in 2014, NHM has grown into an institution in its own right. This artist statement situates NHM’s work within its broader art/activism practice.
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On Saturday May 22nd, the Totem Pole Journey team and the House of Tears Carvers brought the #RedRoadtoDC totem pole to the streets of Seattle for two events and blessing
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