All Our Relations tour map

On behalf of Se’Si’Le, NWAAE and Save Our wild Salmon invite you to stand with Indigenous leaders and Tribal communities across the Northwest in support of a Snake River journey and the Indigenous-led movement to restore salmon by removing the Snake River dams.

This important journey comes at a critical time for the Snake River, endangered salmon and orcas, and the region's Tribal communities.

The 2023 All Our Relations Journey, Snake River Campaign will travel through Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to inspire and build community, and to press the Biden Administration and our region's members of Congress to protect salmon from extinction and restore them to abundance. 

Native peoples in the Northwest have depended on their relationship with salmon since time immemorial. To protect the salmon from extinction and uphold our nation's promises to Tribal communities, we must urgently replace the services of the four lower Snake River dams and restore a free-flowing river.

You can view the date, time, and locations below.

Or, you can view the PDF flyer for details:All Our Relations

 

A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner Steel Sculpture

Each stop of the campaign features an 8-foot in diameter steel sculpture, hand crafted for the journey by Lummi Nation member A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner. 

Cyaltsa collaborated with Master Carver Jewell James on design and concept to create a piece that celebrates the sacred connections of 'All Our Relations’. The sculpture’s design incorporates buffalo, bear, eagle and orca at the foundation of the piece.  Salmon and Prayer Warrior feathers stand 4 and 5 ½  feet tall around a ceremonial smudge bowl at the center. Wind and water represent connections that support the elements of the sculpture.

“This sculpture has a lot to say,” muses Cyaltsa, “we are all prayer warriors full of hope for a better future for all of the dependents of the rivers, land, air and sea.” At each location, Jewell James, Cyaltsa Finkbonner (or Indigenous leaders of the lands on which we will gather) will use the sculptural vessel for a smudge ceremony in honor of “All Our Relations.” 

“I am so honored for the opportunity to work with Jewell, my respected elder. With his vision of the structure and the freedom to design the art within, this collaboration has made something so unique.”  –A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner

 

Please support the 2023 All Our Relations Snake River Journey by attending the following events and sharing with your friends and family: 

AOR Banner Oly Olympia, WA
Date: Saturday, September 23
Time: 1:00-4:30 pm
Where: United Churches of Olympia with a Procession to Capitol steps
Contact: Rev. AC Churchill, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Register Here

AOR Banner PDXPortland, OR
Date: Monday, September 25
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Where: Ecotrust Building, Billy Frank Jr. Conference Room
Contact: Abby Dalke, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Register Here

AOR Banner PascoPasco, WA
Date: Tuesday, September 26
Time: 10:30 am - 1:00 pm
Where: Sacajawea Historical State Park 
Contact: Ione Jones, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Register Here

AOR Banner SpokaneSpokane, WA
Date: Wednesday, September 27
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm 
Where: Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
Contact: William Rutt, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Register Here

AOR Banner LewistonLewiston, ID
Dates: Friday, September 29 & Saturday, September 30
Time: Evening gathering on Sept. 29 & 8:30 am - 2:00 pm on Sept. 30
Where: Hells Gate State Park
Contact: Julian Matthews, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Register Here

AOR Banner SeattleSeattle, WA
Date: Sunday, October 1
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Where: Town Hall Seattle
Contact: Matt Dollinger, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Register Here

 

Please register today to attend one or more of these events. Click here to add your support for treaty rights and the health of the Salish Sea bio-region.

 

All Our Relations FTS 2023All Our Relations ©A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner/creativecuzzin.com

All Our Relations logos

Honor: People, Salmon and Orca at Patagonia

Honor People Salmon and Orca
Honor People Salmon and Orca
Josh Udesen, Pilgrimage (left) and Return (right); Sue Coccia, Granny Orca Spirit and Sockeye (brick wall);
Kate Crump, From Dream To Hand To Memory (brick above door)

You’re invited to Northwest Artists Against Extinction and Patagonia Seattle’s Honor: People, Salmon, & Orca exhibit!

First shown at the University of Puget Sound, artwork from this exhibit is now being displayed at Patagonia Seattle through June 2023 - and in honor of Orca Action Month, is expanding to honor the Southern Residents as well.

In honor of Orca Action Month in June and the complex ecosystems on which our salmon-eating Southern Resident orcas depend, Patagonia Seattle has partnered with Northwest Artists Against Extinction (NWAAE) and Save Our wild Salmon Coalition to bring a number of artworks from the recent Honor: People and Salmon exhibit at University of Puget Sound to the walls of the Patagonia, Seattle, retail store through May and June.

Honor: People, Salmon, & Orca is a collection of works by artist-advocates who create art to evoke support for restoring salmon and orcas, their lands and waters, and the many communities that honor and cherish these emblematic species. Salmon are intrinsic to the cultures and economies of many Northwest Tribes and an essential food source for endangered Southern Resident orcas.

Visit the Patagonia Seattle to see the exhibit through June 30th, 2023!
Check their website here for daily store hours.

Save the date! June 22nd, 2023 7 - 9 pm - Patagonia Seattle, Empty Bowl Press, Wandering Aengus Press and Save Our wild Salmon Coalition will host an evening of storytelling, poetry and art celebrating orca and salmon. Stay tuned for more details!

Please join us to support our generous participating artists, to view their moving artwork, and to be inspired to act in honor of salmon, orca, and the communities that depend on them.

Questions? Contact Britt Freda, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., with questions regarding this art display.

See below for information on the artists featured in the Honor: People, Salmon, & Orca exhibit and event details below.

 

Alyssa Eckert Salmon RunSPECIAL EVENTS

Save the date for An Evening of Storytelling, Poetry and Art celebrating orca and salmon

June 22nd, 2023 - Storytelling event (Seattle, WA)
When: June 22, 2023, 7pm - 9pm
Where: Patagonia Seattle store: 2100 First Ave. | Seattle, WA 98121
Who: All are welcome. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments and appetizers will be served.

You’re invited to the An Evening of Storytelling, Poetry and Art celebrating orca and salmon, hosted by Patagonia Seattle, and Empty Bowl Press, Wandering Aengus Press and Save Our wild Salmon will feature an evening of storytelling, poetry, and art celebrating orca and salmon. Stay tuned for more details!

Alyssa Eckert Salmon RunARTISTS

The Northwest Artists Against Extinction and Patagonia Seattle’s Honor: People, Salmon, & Orca exhibit showcases artwork from the following artists:

Please contact the artist directly for additional information about availability and pricing for their work. 100% of the proceeds go to the artists who create to inspire a healthier future for all.

Crumb Sarah Jpod 1976Crumb Sarah: Jpod 1976
Pinebones Salmon BearPinebones: Salmon Bear
Paige Roper Back to the TreesPaige Roper: Back to the Trees

Honor: People and Salmon Curator's Statement

“The Power of Art”

hon•or [verb] : regard with great respect: [we honor salmon and endangered resident orcas].

art [noun] : the expression …of human creative skill and imagination… to be appreciated primarily for beauty or emotional power. [great art considers the cultural, political and environmental issues of the times].

ac•tiv•ism [noun] : the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change. there is growing activism seeking social [and environmental] transformation.

-New Oxford American Dictionary

On March 2, the New York Times published an opinion piece by David Brooks titled:  The Power of Art in a Political Age.  I am an artist; all of my work in the world is connected in one way or another to art, so it is no surprise that Brooks’ sentence, “[t]he arts work on us at that deep level, the level that really matters,” made my heart skip.   For one’s work to be acknowledged as important is a real thing.  On good days passion pumps through my veins with optimism and hope.  Let’s be honest, there are bad days too.  We work and live in a world facing, among other things, salmon extinctions and starving, endangered resident orcas who we know by name.  Economic and social inequities are rampant. Climate crises, social injustices, persecution and oppression–the list is long.  Brooks posits that the “politicization of everything” makes us “shallower” humans.

As a counterbalance to the “shallowing,” Brooks proposes THE ARTS–for three reasons: 

“First, beauty impels us to pay a certain kind of attention. …It prompts you to stop in your tracks, take a breath and open yourself up… with childlike awe and reverence.  It trains you to see the world in a more patient, just and humble way.” 

 “Second, artworks widen your emotional repertoire.”  

“Third, art teaches you to see the world through the eyes of another, often a person who sees more deeply than you do.” 

-Brooks, NYT, 3/2/23

The auctioneer shouts, “SOLD! To the woman wearing the NWAAE curator’s badge.” That’s me. Hook, line and sinker, I’ll bite those three delicious perspectives about the power of art. 

As artists, we open our emotions to the hum of the humans, the animals and our environments.  Clearly, we’re not the only ones who do this.  It is wired into each of us for survival.  But technology may be dampening our attention to the hum of the natural world.   The artist’s job, in part,  is to gather the emotional colors, lights and darks, then swirl them through a churning imagination, pull out pieces, and squish others together.  Then the artist brings their creations out into the world with wonder about what will happen in front of so many eyes.  Will there be awe and reverence?  Will there be “widening of …emotional repertoire[s]?” Will perspectives shift? Will creating with “vigor… bring about political or social change?”  

I am conscious of the risks of speaking on behalf of others’ experiences, so it is with respect that I will go out on a limb.  I believe these advocate artists–who seek to evoke support for restoring salmon and orcas, and the many communities that honor and cherish these emblematic species–believe that their art has the power to  seep into the hearts of those those who interact with their works.  The viewers and listeners of art share in an experience.  And when done well, the artist and the viewer share an intimate connection around something worthy of the time required to create, worthy of looking closely, worthy of reflection, worthy of honor.  From the artist-activist perspective, it is from that intimate “level that really matters,” where the seeds of change are planted. 

The singer, songwriter, Nina Simone famously said, “an artist’s duty is to reflect the times.”   Those words were a response to her 1963 civil rights protest anthem, Mississippi Goddam.  It was grief and rage that fueled her rapid writing of that song after her, then-husband Andy, said to her “Nina, you can’t kill anyone.  You’re a musician.  Do what you do.” (PBS)  There is grief and rage, sorrow and frustration woven through this exhibit.  Like alchemy, the artists have transformed emotions to become invitations–clad in bright colors or long curvy  lines–that beckon contemplation. 

To all, whether you are an artist, a poet, a scientist, an educator, a political or community leader, a student of life or a curator (of images or ideas), follow the guidance given to artistic civil rights activist, Ms. Simone,  “–do what you do!”  Be moved by art along the way.  See the world through others’ eyes, widen your repertoire.  Soak up awe and reverence for the wonder of the natural world–for people, for salmon and for the extraordinary ecosystems that sustain life in it.  We are all in “the[se] times” together.  No matter what you do, may your interaction with the arts inspire you to do it with a little more beauty, with creativity, with humility, with heart and with honor. 

And if “an artist’s duty is to reflect the times,”–my hope, dear viewer, is that you have been moved “on a level that really matters.”

Britt Freda
Artist, Curator, NWAAE Creative Director
Northwest Artists Against Extinction (NWAAE) is a project of Save Our wild Salmon Coalition.

 

To learn more about ways to support the removal of the lower Snake River dams visit www.wildsalmon.org.

Brooks, David.  “The Power of Art in a Political Age,” The New York Times, 2 Mar. 2023.

Northwest Artists Against Extinction, a project of Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, presents...

Honor: People and Salmon

Open panel discussion:
Thursday, March 23, 2023, 5:00-6:30pm
Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound
open to the public

Northwest Artists Against Extinction, a project of Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, and The University of Puget Sound are hosting a panel discussion about honoring people and salmon. Panelists will discuss distinct, complementary, and interconnected ways of understanding and advocating for salmon as well as how this keystone species affects and inspires people and communities.

 

Panelists

Archie Cantrell, Native American Education Liaison for the Puyallup School District
was born and raised in Tacoma, WA and is an active member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. He worked in Natural Resources at the Puyallup Tribal Fisheries, as a Fisheries Sampler and then a Fisheries Specialist. This work allowed him to participate in, and further his appreciation of, all aspects of salmon culture—which is the Puyallup Tribe’s most valued natural resource. Throughout his employment within the Puyallup Tribe, Archie has been active with tribal youth, serving on the Puyallup Tribal Youth Committee from 2005-2015 and as Chairman for eight years. Archie then became a Youth Coordinator at the Puyallup Tribal Youth Center where its language center sparked his interest in the Lushootseed movement. In 2016 Archie transferred departments and began working for the Puyallup Tribal Language Program. As a full-time advocate for the Lushootseed movement, Archie is able to work with tribal community members of all ages, and directly with Chief Leschi Schools. In his spare time, Archie is an active hunter, and commercial harvester of salmon, crab, shrimp, and geoduck. Archie and his wife, Hope, have 3 children. Archie is a licensed foster parent, and holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration.

Paige Pettibon, visual artist
Paige Pettibon is an artist based in Tacoma, Washington. She works in multiple mediums such as acrylics, oils, watercolor, fiber art, jewelry, digital design, and other media. Paige is Black, White, and Salish (from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes). Paige is influenced by her multicultural background. Her work has been shown at the Tacoma Art Museum, Smithsonian, and art galleries in the Puget Sound region.

Peter Wimberger, Biology Professor and Director of the Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound
In terms of work - I am an evolutionary and conservation biologist, a teacher, and a natural history museum director. I used to think that salmon were scientific black holes that sucked biologists in and never let them out. And then I started learning more about them and understood why. To borrow from ecology - one could consider them a pedagogical keystone species. Since then, I have developed environmental and evolution curricula for high school and college students that use salmon to convey fundamental environmental and evolutionary lessons.

Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
Joseph has been working for SOS since 1996. Joseph first got hooked on Northwest salmon restoration efforts while in graduate school where he authored a paper in the early-1990s, exploring the then-relatively recent Snake River salmon listings under the Endangered Species Act, and how it might impact the region and its federal lands and dams. Before joining the SOS team, Joseph spent many years teaching and working in the forests and mountains of the West. Today, Joseph lives on Vashon Island with his partner Amy and two children Liesl and Jeremiah. 

Britt Freda, artist, NWAAE Creative Director
Britt is an artist and the Creative Director for Northwest Artists Against Extinction which is a new project of Save Our wild Salmon Coalition.   Britt’s paintings focus primarily on environmental impact, endangered species and social justice.  Her work can be found in museums, galleries, pubic spaces and in national as well as international private collections. Learn more about Britt’s work at www.brittfreda.com.  Britt and her family live and work on Vashon Island on the traditional lands of the sx̌ʷəbabš or Swift Water Coast Salish people.

Elise Richman, Art Professor, University of Puget Sound and panel moderator
is a Tacoma-based artist and painting professor at the University of Puget Sound. She learned about the campaign to remove the four lower Snake River dams while earning her MFA at American University in Washington,DC. This was over two decades ago when this seemed like a radical proposition, now this large scale river restoration seems achievable. Since 2019, Richman has been visiting sites of environmental importance to these salmon’s future as a means of communicating their plight and epic journey through visual represenations of place. Richman has exhibited her work regionally and nationally at commercial, university, and nonprofit spaces. http://www.eliserichman.net/

Honor People and Salmon

Northwest Artists Against Extinction, a project of Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, presents...

Honor: People and Salmon

Honor People and SalmonHonor: People and Salmon, an exhibit of works by artist-advocates who create art to evoke support for restoring salmon and orcas, their lands and waters, and the many communities that honor and cherish these emblematic species. Salmon are intrinsic to the cultures and economies of many Northwest Tribes and an essential food source for endangered Southern Resident orcas.

This project brings artists together to inspire change in perspective and policy that honors past, present and future generations in the stewardship of lands and waters, and fish and wildlife.

 

Panel Talk

On Thursday, March 23rd, 2023, Northwest Artists Against Extinction hosted a panel discussion about honoring people and salmon. Panelists discussed distinct, complementary, and interconnected ways of understanding and advocating for salmon as well as how this keystone species affects and inspires people and communities.

Here is the list of panelists, along with short biographies.

 

Closing Reception with exhibiting artists - April 15th, 2023

 

 

ARTWORK ON DISPLAY

Kittredge GalleryKittredge Gallery 04Kittredge Gallery

CURATOR'S STATEMENT

Click on any thumbnail to view a slideshow.

Many pieces are available for purchase.  See availability and price in the description.

 

* Purchases of art in this exhibit are made directly from the artist or his/her studio.  Contact information is in the item description.  NWAAE, SOS, and Kittredge Gallery are not agents and do not receive any commission or percentage of sales.  All payments are made directly to the artist, who is solely responsible for completion of the transaction.