Free and open to Indigenous community members.

sʔabalikʷ Indigenous Youth Teachings is a workshop series designed by youth for youth. Native young people are invited to participate in free learning circles led by guest artists on topics like: history, Two Spirit identity, beading, music making, mental health, trauma healing, activism, printmaking, and more! The title of the series - sʔabalikʷ - means "give away" in Lushootseed. Inspired by the Potlatch tradition of Coastal Salish tribes, the objectives of the group are to gather, give and receive knowledge. 

November Workshop:
Our first workshop will be on Native American History and Two-Spirit identity, led by artist Nataanii Nez Cottier (Oglala and Sicangu Lakota). Participants will engage in an art activity using collage and found objects to reflect on the knowledge shared. This event is intended for Indigenous youth ages 13-24. All tribal affiliations and experience levels warmly welcomed. Snacks and supplies provided.

About Nataanii:
I am a Two Spirit multimedia artist. I take inspiration from my cultural identity as a mixed Lakota and Swedish two-spirit person, and my experiences in my life – growing up in a small town as a third culture kid, my trauma, and my search for community and acceptance of my being. I grew up surrounded by art and come from a family full of creatively minded women. Making art is one of the ways I have learned to heal my own personal trauma as well as the intergenerational trauma that I carry.

Free and open to the public, all are welcome.

Families and children of all ages, please join us for a fun-filled afternoon of hands-on learning led by Native American artists! Stop by or stay for the day as we celebrate Indigenous cultures and creativity - hear Lushootseed songs and stories, explore books by Native authors, and create your own treasures to take home.

This event is curated by Kimberly Corinne Deriana (Mandan/Hidatsa) and Asia Tail (Cherokee) of yəhaw̓, an Indigenous artist collective.

This event is in conjunction with Tacoma Reads 2019, a partnership of City of Tacoma, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and Tacoma Public Library. Tacoma Reads is a local community reading program that seeks to unite the community in dialogue around contemporary themes through reading a common text. The 2019 Tacoma Reads selection is the bestselling debut novel “There There” by Tommy Orange. Described as “groundbreaking, extraordinary” by The New York Times, “There There” is a multi-generational, relentlessly paced story of 12 urban Native Americans traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, interconnected in ways they may not yet realize.

Activities:

• Lushootseed with Kayla Guyett (Jicarilla Apache) and Paige Pettibon (Salish)

• Story Stones with Raven Juarez (Blackfeet)

• Selfie Station by Alex Britt (Nansemond)

• Books by Native authors from Tacoma Public Library’s collection

Free and open to the public, all are welcome.

A diverse group of Indigenous womxn tell stories from their lives during this special event. Our multi-generational gathering includes local writers, activists, artists, and students, sharing a wide range of Coast Salish and Urban Native perspectives. King’s Books will also be on site with publications by Native womxn writers available for purchase.

This event is curated by Kimberly Corinne Deriana (Mandan/Hidatsa) and Asia Tail (Cherokee) of yəhaw̓, an Indigenous artist collective.

This event is in conjunction with Tacoma Reads 2019, a partnership of City of Tacoma, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and Tacoma Public Library. Tacoma Reads is a local community reading program that seeks to unite the community in dialogue around contemporary themes through reading a common text. The 2019 Tacoma Reads selection is the bestselling debut novel “There There” by Tommy Orange. Described as “groundbreaking, extraordinary” by The New York Times, “There There” is a multi-generational, relentlessly paced story of 12 urban Native Americans traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, interconnected in ways they may not yet realize.

Storytellers:

• Connie McCloud (Puyallup)

• Brandi Douglas (Puyallup)

• Dawn Pichón Barron (Choctaw / Mexican / Euro)

• Monae Wright (Puyallup)

• Nataanii Nez Cottier (Oglala and Sicangu Lakota)

• Sasha LaPointe (Upper Skagit / Nooksack)

Free and Open to the Public

Join yəhaw̓ and the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture on the summer solstice, Friday June 21, to celebrate a new outdoor installation at King Street Station created by artist and architectural designer Kimberly Corinne Deriana (Mandan/Hidatsa) in collaboration with Coast Salish carvers. Remarks and blessings will be shared 12:00-1:30pm, with additional activities until 3pm.

Brings the Medicine Sundial is a public temporary sculpture intended to bring healing, recognition, and awareness of the First People of this land by activating the King Street Station Plaza, and creating an outdoor gathering area that honors the Earth. Lodge poles are a shared cultural reference and beloved material drawn from both the artist’s Plains tribes, and local Coast Salish tribes. The concept relates to the inaugural exhibition at ARTS at King Street Station, yəhaw̓, and its theme of “lifting the sky,” based on the narrative of Indigenous people from many tribes coming together and using poles to hoist the sky above the Earth. yəhaw̓ is the word shared across languages that all the tribes used to communicate and form unity in this process. Tall fir tree poles will be installed in a semicircle. The free standing tripod structures will form a sundial/dais and gathering circle in the plaza.

Kimberly Corinne Deriana is a Mandan and Hidatsa architectural designer and artist who specializes in sustainable, environmental, Indigenous architecture, housing, and planning. Her design methodologies focus on incorporating Indigenous lifestyle practices in relationship to past and present: design for seven generations. She strives to achieve exceptional design by weaving together respect for individuality, honor for cultural identity, and appreciation for contemporary quality, manifested in the shape and structure of sustainable buildings and communities.

Project Team:

Kimberly Corinne Deriana, Artist/Designer

Rob Purser (Suquamish), Delbert Miller (Skokomish), Tina Kuckkahn-Miller (Ojibwe), Sayalts Miller (Skokomish), Coast Salish carvers

Tracy Rector, Asia Tail, Satpreet Kahlon, Curators

Absalom Shantz, Fabricator

Christopher C. Shaw, Professional Engineer

S Surface, King Street Station Program Lead, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

Free and open to Indigenous community members.

yəhaw̓ is hosting monthly co-working sessions in Tacoma on third Thursdays 6-10pm. All Indigenous creatives are welcome to come use the studio space for free for their own projects, and there will be new drop-in group activities led by guest artists each month. Art supplies and snacks will be provided.

Sessions are held in the 2nd floor studios at Alma Mater.

June 20, 6-10pm
Guest Artist: Olivia Hart (Choctaw / Cheyenne)
Activity: ribbon skirts

Free and Open to the Public

Closing Reception, June 12, 4:00-9:00 PM

The works at Bellevue College Gallery Space primarily represent indigenous artists featured in ʤə́ kʼʷ: An Indigenous Art Zine published in-conjunction with yәhaw̓ and Bellevue College’s Office of Equity and Pluralism, Academic and Student Affairs, and the RISE Learning Institute. This publication was edited by Sara Marie Ortiz, assistant editors were Natalie Martínez and Asia Tail. Design and layout were created by Satpreet Kahlon and the zine was printed by Paper Press Punch.

Artists from ʤə́ kʼʷ in the exhibition at Bellevue College Gallery Space include:
fabian romero
Demian DinéYazhí
Casandra Lopez
Arianne True
Carmen Selam
Raven Two Feathers
Adam Sings in the Timber
DB Amorin

Artists whose works are also on exhibition at Bellevue College Gallery Space in-conjunction with yəhaw̓ include:
Misko Ma’iingan (Charles Fiddler)
Cindy Chischilly

The exhibition also features a display of all pages from ʤə́ kʼʷ: An Indigenous Art Zine with complimentary printed copies available for visitors.


Closing Reception Performances

Music by Them Savages
Originally from Flagstaff Arizona, the band will be at Bellevue College to celebrate the closing of the yehaw’ exhibition at gallery space.

Jimmy Donnellan on Culturedvultures.com describes the band in this way:
“The best thing about Them Savages is how though they might be small in number, they produce the kind of sound that could fill a stadium. Whether it’s the ferocious and full vocals or the deep, oddly hollow yet replete instrumentation, they have a distinctive sound and one that should grab your attention and refuse to let go until you start bobbing your head. If you need proof of just how infectious Church Songs is, check out ‘Pretty Little Thief‘ towards the album’s rousing finale.”

You can check out the bands music on their bandcamp website here:
https://themsavages.bandcamp.com

Readings
Readings by the following individuals will take place throughout the night:
Skyler Reed
Laura Da’
Erin Tail
Sara Marie Ortiz
Natalie Martínez

Free and Open to the Public.

Join us Saturday, May 25, 4-5:30pm for a talk by yəhaw̓ artist Adam Sings In The Timber followed by Q and A.

Adam Sings In The Timber is an enrolled member of the Crow Nation in Montana. Adam was born in Montana and grew up in the Midwest of the USA. He studied photojournalism at the University of Montana, Missoula. Currently based in Chicago, Illinois, his work captures the beauty and complexities of Native American culture without shying away from the realities of poverty, addiction and abuse. His photo making process ethically portrays Indigenous communities through art and documentation. Sings In The Timber’s work, combining documentary photography and portraiture, will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Field Museum in Chicago. Previous exhibitions include First Voice Art Gallery at the American Indian Center, Chicago; Paramount Theatre Gallery, Seattle; Montgomery Ward Gallery, University of Illinois-Chicago; Harold Washington Library, Chicago; Gallery OTR, Chicago; and King Street Station, Seattle, Washington. His photojournalism has been published in The Guardian, Indian Country Today, Indian Peoples Magazine, USA Today, ESPN, and the New York Times, among others. He has lectured widely on the importance of Indigenous people documenting their own culture at institutions including Bowling Green State University, Northwestern University, Brown University, and the University of Colorado Boulder.

Free and Open to the Public.

Featuring a collection of Indigenous films, the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab, a complimentary screening of Words from a Bear film at the Seattle Central Library, kickoff event at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center (featuring an art market in partnership with yəhaw̓ Show - Indigenous Creatives), and more. This focus has evolved from SIFF’s long partnership with filmmaker/activist/SIFF programmer Tracy Rector (Longhouse Media) and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

Thank you to The Academy, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ITVS, Na'ah Illahee Fund, Native Americans in Philanthropy, Nisqually Indian Tribe, Seattle Foundation, The Seattle Public Library, Snoqualmie Tribe, and the Suquamish Museum for their support of the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab, and to Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund (Tulalip News) for their sponsorship of SIFF’s Indigenous film program.

•View short films made by Indigenous artists as a preview kickoff to SIFF’s Indigenous Showcase Weekend.
•Experience an Indigenous art market as part of the city-wide Indigenous-led celebration yəhaw̓.
•Meet visiting filmmakers and guest panelists such as Paulette Jordan (Coeur d’Alene).
•Taste light refreshments & traditional foods from Indigenous chefs. Cash bar.
•Celebrate the breadth and diversity of Indigenous creatives making art and film.

Art Market begins at 3 p.m. Films and panel discussion begins at 6:00pm.

FREE & OPEN TO ALL INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS

yəhaw̓ (a regional celebration of Indigenous creatives) and Amplifier are partnering to host a beading circle on Thursday May 23rd from 6-9pm. Bring your beadwork to work on, or just yourself for a night of beading and hanging out. Any skill level is welcome, this is the perfect time to learn from your peers or just dedicate time to working. Amplifier will be handing out free artwork, and beading supplies and snacks will be provided.

Amplifier Art Lab is located at 901 Hiawatha Pl S, Seattle, WA 98031 in the retail space directly through the front door.

This is a partner program of yәhaw̓. yәhaw̓ is a year-long Indigenous community-based project culminating in the inaugural exhibition at Seattle Office Of Arts & Culture’s ARTS at King Street Station from March 23 - August 3, 2019. The exhibition is accompanied by a mentorship training cohort, satellite shows, residencies, vendor opportunities and partner programs. yәhaw̓ will feature the work of 200+ Indigenous creatives at over 20 sites across Seattle and beyond. Curated by Tracy Rector (Choctaw/Seminole), Asia Tail (Cherokee), and Satpreet Kahlon, yәhaw̓ celebrates the depth and diversity of Indigenous art made in the Pacific Northwest. Learn more at yehawshow.com.

Amplifier is a nonprofit design lab that builds art and media experiments to amplify the most important movements of our times. We design and distribute art that engages people in the creation of a more just, inclusive and sustainable future. Since 2015, we've worked with more than 300 renowned artists, distributed over a million pieces of art and sent free artwork to hundreds of thousands of students across the United States. amplifier.org @amplifierart.

Free and open to Indigenous community members.

yəhaw̓ is hosting monthly co-working sessions in Tacoma on third Thursdays 6-10pm. All Indigenous creatives are welcome to come use the studio space for free for their own projects, and there will be new drop-in group activities led by guest artists each month. Art supplies and snacks will be provided.

Sessions are held in the 2nd floor studios at Alma Mater.

May 16, 6-10pm
Guest Artist: Crystal Christopherson (Tlingit)
Activity: how to draw formline

yəhaw̓ will have a table featuring works for sale by local Indigenous artists at the Tacoma-South Sound Mini Maker Faire!

Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these "makers" to show hobbies, experiments, projects.

We call it the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth - a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness.

Glimpse the future and get inspired!

Free, open to the public, and family friendly.

In partnership with the Seattle Art Museum, yəhaw̓ presents Lifting the Sky: An Indigenous Fashion Show. Curator Lisa Fruichantie (Seminole/Mvskoke-Creek) brings together Native designers, artists, and performers from across the Pacific Northwest for a night of Indigenous fashion. Watch contemporary styles walk the runway to the beat of a powwow drum, learn about intertribal regalia created by local community members, and shop at an all-Native market. The show starts at 6 pm and the Native Fashion Market takes place throughout the evening. Visitors can continue exploring urban Indigenous perspectives upstairs in the SAM galleries with half-off admission to Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer.

Designers
Meka Clothing/Mary Kelsay
Trickster Company/Crystal Worl
Evan Ducharme
Abriel Johnny ­Rodriguez

Vendors
Paige Pettibon
Ashley Alvarez
Michaila Taylor
Denise Emerson
Ayanna Fuentes & Ixtli Salinas White Hawk

Host/Emcee
Roquin Siongco
Roldy Aguero Ablao

DJ
Drew Hobson

Hair/Makeup
Matthew Lawrence
Katie Kihara
Amanda Upham

Free and open to Indigenous community members.

yəhaw̓ is hosting monthly co-working sessions in Tacoma on third Thursdays 6-10pm. All Indigenous creatives are welcome to come use the studio space for free for their own projects, and there will be new drop-in group activities led by guest artists each month. Art supplies and snacks will be provided.

Sessions are held in the 2nd floor studios at Alma Mater.

April 18, 6-10pm
Guest Artist: Rebecca Cesspooch (Northern Ute, Assiniboine and Nakota)
Activity: collage and self love

Free and open to the public. Please RSVP at the event’s website.

In partnership with yəhaw̓, Friends of Waterfront Seattle presents The Source: Art - Indigenous Reflections on Water.

Water is life, and since time immemorial the waterfront has been a central gathering place as well as a source of inspiration for Indigenous creatives living across the Salish Sea region. Join us at Waterfront Space at 1400 Western Avenue on Saturday, April 13, for an event filled with Indigenous art and conversation as we explore themes of water, ecology, and resilience. Shop at an all day Native art market while enjoying food from an Indigenous caterer, try your hand at weaving in the afternoon, and stay for a special performance art piece in the evening.

Throughout the spring, Friends of Waterfront Seattle hosts The Source series, a sequence of free community events celebrating our waterfront as a source of heritage, creative inspiration, and appreciation for the natural world. This series also celebrates Waterfront Space, the project showroom for Waterfront Seattle, a source for project information and community engagement.

All Source events will include food, refreshments, and a brief program presenting new perspectives on our waterfront’s history, art, and ecology.

Vendors

• Joe Seymour

• Alex Britt

• Native Works by Chief Seattle Club

• Si Seciwa

• Cody Gray

• Salmon Homecoming

Activities

• Weaving with Stephanie Leon Riedl

• Performance Art by Aaron Parker

Intended for tribal members and Indigenous folks. Please register by purchasing a free ticket at the event’s website.

Local tribal members are invited to join Sara Siestreem in a field-based workshop that explores gathering natural materials for art, medicine, and food as a basic sovereign right of Indigenous people. Siestreem will lead participants in thinking through continuing traditions that are crucial for community connectivity, spiritual mental health, and the development of productive land management and engagement strategies. The program will be hosted at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center and a nearby site in Discovery Park.

Acknowledging the presence of Cottonwood tree buds as a sign of spring, Siestreem will guide the group in connecting to the location; share the medicinal and spiritual benefits of the tree’s buds, and the processes for cultivating its use. Workshop participants will be invited to partake in a community meal, where discussions around plant to human knowledge transference can continue, along with utopic visioning, and modes of survivance as it relates to these multi-faceted practices.

Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos and American, born 1976) is from the Umpqua River Valley in southwestern Oregon. She is a Master Artist, Educator, and Theorist. Siestreem graduated Phi Kappa Phi with a BS from PSU in 2005. She earned an MFA with distinction from Pratt Art Institute in 2007. She is represented by Augen Gallery in Portland and her work has been shown in museums and figures in prestigious private and public collections nationally. She teaches studio arts at PSU and traditional Indigenous weaving practices for The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.

This program is organized by the Henry Art Gallery and hosted by Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.

Please purchase tickets at the event’s website, using discount code “yehaw” for free admission.

Visiting artist Sara Siestreem offers a talk on her multi-disciplinary practice, which addresses ancestral memory and continuing traditions, Indigenous survivance and sovereign rights, and the inclusion of natural processes and environmental relationships. This talk will open up a space to discuss the ways non-Indigenous communities can work in collaboration with Tribes to respectfully and effectively approach land management, gathering and working with natural materials for art or medicinal purposes, and decolonizing institutions.

Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos and American, born 1976) is from the Umpqua River Valley in southwestern Oregon. She is a Master Artist, Educator, and Theorist. Siestreem graduated Phi Kappa Phi with a BS from PSU in 2005. She earned an MFA with distinction from Pratt Art Institute in 2007. She is represented by Augen Gallery in Portland and her work has been shown in museums and figures in prestigious private and public collections nationally. She teaches studio arts at PSU and traditional Indigenous weaving practices for The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.

Free and open to the public.

Become part of an artist's creative process during our Art Encounters.

In collaboration with the yǝhaẃ exhibition at King Street Station, the Seattle Art Museum presents an artist residency that will activate the Olympic Sculpture Park throughout the winter and help grow the artistic practice of contemporary Pacific Northwest Native artists. Multi-disciplinary Chugach Alutiiq artist Christine Babic will take residence to research, workshop, and realize an immersive project exploring the gap between contemporary and traditional Indigenous works. Babic will combine performance and installation to create a site-specific experience with collaborating artists Mary Babic (Chugach Alutiiq) and Alex Britt (Nansemond/White).

Get inspired by learning about meaningful artistic practices and participating in two programs led by Christine Babic.

Free and open to Indigenous community members.

yəhaw̓ is hosting monthly co-working sessions in Tacoma on third Thursdays 6-10pm. All Indigenous creatives are welcome to come use the studio space for free for their own projects, and there will be new drop-in group activities led by guest artists each month. Art supplies and snacks will be provided.

Sessions are held in the 2nd floor studios at Alma Mater.

Free and open to the public.

Become part of an artist's creative process during our Art Encounters.

In collaboration with the yǝhaẃ exhibition at King Street Station, the Seattle Art Museum presents an artist residency that will activate the Olympic Sculpture Park throughout the winter and help grow the artistic practice of contemporary Pacific Northwest Native artists. Multi-disciplinary Chugach Alutiiq artist Christine Babic will take residence to research, workshop, and realize an immersive project exploring the gap between contemporary and traditional Indigenous works. Babic will combine performance and installation to create a site-specific experience with collaborating artists Mary Babic (Chugach Alutiiq) and Alex Britt (Nansemond/White).

Get inspired by learning about meaningful artistic practices and participating in two programs led by Christine Babic.

Free and open to Indigenous community members.

yəhaw̓ is hosting monthly co-working sessions in Tacoma on third Thursdays 6-10pm. All Indigenous creatives are welcome to come use the studio space for free for their own projects, and there will be new drop-in group activities led by guest artists each month. Art supplies and snacks will be provided.

Sessions are held in the 2nd floor studios at Alma Mater.