Tag Archives: Indigenous Storytelling

Voices

The Vastness of Indigenous Love: A Thanksgiving Reflection

by Robin Little Wing Sigo (Suquamish)

This piece was originally published on Nov. 25, 2021. In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, we are republishing a series of inspiring articles and op-eds that highlight the incredible ways in which community giving, generosity, and unity have transformed lives. These stories are not just narratives; they are testaments to the strength and compassion that flourish in our community when we support each other.

ʔuʔušəbicid čəd 

Learning more of my ancestral language during this pandemic has been a powerful gift. The ability to say I love you in Lushootseed, brings deeper warmth and nourishment to the vastness of love.  Indigenous love grows from a place of compassion, an understanding that I concern myself with others, and they concern themselves with me. This week of Thanksgiving I am reflecting on how my liberation, my joy, my health is always tied to yours. We are together, wherever we are. 

Community

Reimagining Brilliant Black and Indigenous Futures

by Tracy Rector

(This article was originally published on Nia Tero’s website and has been reprinted with permission.)

Growing up as a child of the ’70s in the western United States, families like mine were rare. We were a spectrum of skin tones, languages, histories, let alone the lived experiences inherent to being people of mixed heritage. Our reality was constructed over multiple centuries, circumstances, and regions. We were different, and we were special — special because we were encouraged to embrace all our ancestors. I was raised to feel pride in the stories of Black resistance and Indigenous knowledge systems, and to know that this interweaving of our multiple backgrounds helped our family to survive.

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Arts & Culture

yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective’s 1.5 Acres of Land to Offer Inclusive Art Curation and Ecological Education

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by Vee Hua 華婷婷

Founded in 2017, Seattle-based yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective launched their inaugural event two years later, in collaboration with the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture. Featuring over 200 Indigenous creatives representing over 100 tribal affiliations and Indigenous communities from across the globe, the exhibition included on-site events at King Street Station and off-site through additional programming and publications.

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Arts & Culture

National Geographic Photographer Kiliii Yuyan Captures Indigenous Stories

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.”

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Voices

Seedcast: Indigenous Storytelling as Environmental Justice

by 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.

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Community

Reciprocity Project Highlights Indigenous Storytelling and Values

by 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. 

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Voices

Seedcast: Finding Sweet Water in a Blade of Grass

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.

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Arts & Culture

Indigenize Productions Brings Healing, Dance, and Joy to Native and BIPOC Communities

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by Amanda Ong

Since 2017, Indigenize Productions has been showcasing queer and trans Indigenous joy in different ways, from hosting variety shows to dance parties. Indigenize was founded after a group of Indigenous talents met through a burlesque and variety show called “Dear White People” with an all-BIPOC cast at the University of Washington Ethnic Cultural Theatre. 

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Arts & Culture

Beloved Seattle Artist and Writer Lawney Reyes Passes Away at the Age of 91

by Ron Chew

(This article was originally published on the International Examiner and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

Seattle Native American artist and writer Lawney Reyes, who documented his family saga and his tribe’s forgotten history in White Grizzly Bear’s Legacy: Learning to Be Indian, passed away on Aug. 10, 2022, at the age of 91.

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Arts & Culture

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robyn Maynard Reimagine Liberation Together

Two writers and movement builders reflect on their new book, written as letters throughout the pandemic.

by Amanda Ong

This Wednesday, July 27, acclaimed writers, movement builders, and academics Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robyn Maynard will virtually visit Elliott Bay Book Company. The two are releasing a new book, Rehearsals for Living, a series of letters between the two written mostly over the pandemic. The book in itself is a dialogue between the two authors as they processed and reimagined life and liberation amid the pandemic. 

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