curated by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Amanda Ong
“There’s no right way to live. There are wrong ways to live, but there are many, many, many right ways to live, and you can’t find those insights by looking inward — just looking within your own culture for insights. The wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented, it’s [clear] all around us if we’re willing to pay attention.”
Continue reading National Geographic Photographer Kiliii Yuyan Captures Indigenous Storiesby Tracy Rector
Since time immemorial, Indigenous people have celebrated storytelling as a way to connect the present to past lessons and future dreaming. Narrative sovereignty is a form of land guardianship, and Nia Tero supports this work through its storytelling initiatives, including the Seedcast podcast, as well as in this column for media partner the South Seattle Emerald.
Indigenous peoples often share that throughout the world, storytelling is a foundational part of culture and kinship, a way to express and share knowledge across generations and communities. Indigenous stories are also a form of environmental justice work. Stories are culturally and bioregionally rooted parts of knowledge-bearing systems that tell us about ourselves, each other, where we’ve been, who we are, and even where we may be going, as seen in a number of “futurism” movements. Stories can also shine a spotlight on histories and lineages, draw us into each other’s ways of being, and provide a guide for treating the Earth with respect.
Continue reading Seedcast: Indigenous Storytelling as Environmental Justiceby Vee Hua 華婷婷
(This article is jointly published between REDEFINE magazine and South Seattle Emerald.)
Khu.éex’ (pronounced koo-eek; “potlatch” in Tlingit) is a 10-piece intergenerational band whose musical style is fluid, with improvisational prowess that allows them to span genres as wide-ranging as funk and hip-hop to jazz and spoken word. With members spread throughout the Seattle region to as far up north as Bellingham and Juneau, Alaska, they are a project with a majority Native membership and a penchant for singing in Tlingit and Haida. Following a sold-out show at High Dive on Indigenous Heritage Day in November, they will be performing a Valentine’s Day show at the Seattle Aquarium.
Continue reading Indigenous Band Khu.éex’ Uplifts Alaska Native Culture With Genre-Defying Fluidityby Lauryn Bray
When I was 18, my grandfather told me that in 1936, the U.S. government cut a check to my great-grandmother for $2,000 and took her land in Oklahoma. She had inherited a farmhouse that sat on several acres. This property had been in my family for decades, and from what I understand, it did not go willingly. $2,000 in 1936 — when my great-grandmother would have had custody of this property — is worth about $42,879 now. Needless to say, she was ripped off.
Continue reading OPINION | How My Black and Indigenous Ancestry Guides My Perception of Generational Wealthby Victor Simoes
Reciprocity Project, a series of seven Indigenous-made documentary short films, combines Native American storytelling with climate awareness and other intersectional movements rooted in Indigenous guardianship, social justice, and human rights. The first season of the project debuted on Oct. 10, and it’s already available to stream.
Continue reading Reciprocity Project Highlights Indigenous Storytelling and Valuescurated by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Jadenne Radoc Cabahug
In October 2022, the City of Seattle granted $244,000 to seven Duwamish River community projects on as part of the Duwamish River Opportunity Fund (DROF). Since 2014, the program has funded organizations to improve the quality of life and sustainability of the neighborhood. The Duwamish River was listed as one of the country’s most toxic hazardous waste sites in 2001; the Lower Duwamish Waterway (LDW) Superfund site is a 5.5-mile long polluted area from South Park to Georgetown and requires a long-term response due to toxic chemicals polluting the river from years of industrialization.
Continue reading Shared Spaces Foundation, the Heron’s Nest Focus on Duwamish River Environmental and Landback Projectsby Amanda Ong
This Friday, Nov. 4, Chef Sean Sherman will speak at the Seattle Central Library and online about his work highlighting Indigenous food systems in a modern culinary context. Author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, Sherman is CEO and founder of The Sioux Chef and North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS). Raised in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Sherman is Oglala Lakota Sioux. The event will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Continue reading ‘There Should Be Native American Restaurants Everywhere’by Denise Emerson
Since time immemorial, Indigenous people have celebrated storytelling as a way to connect the present to past lessons and future dreaming. Narrative sovereignty is a form of land guardianship, and Nia Tero supports this work through its storytelling initiatives, including the Seedcast podcast, as well as in this column for media partner the South Seattle Emerald.
I grew up as an artist. My parents made it so. When I was 6 or 7 years old, my teacher would give us what we called “ditto sheets.” They were copies of pictures for us to color on, and we had Christmas ditto sheets, Easter ditto sheets, ditto sheets for seasons, dittos for animals, dittos for everything. We were supposed to color the pictures with crayons or colored pencils, but to me, the pictures on the dittos alone looked so bare. So, I started drawing outside of the lines on my sheets. As my teacher walked around, she saw what I was doing. She bent down and asked me, “Denise, what made you think of doing that?” I couldn’t really explain it to her and said that it was just something I knew needed to be done. She was the first person who noticed that I was different and gave me room to make my art.
Continue reading Seedcast: Finding Sweet Water in a Blade of Grass
