Public Art Comes to Your Front Yard
created for #SeattleTogether Public Art Comes to Your Front Yard, with the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (full credits below)
About the Project
Where: Pioneer Square, and across Seattle neighborhoods
When: April 2020
Connect: artbeat.seattle.gov
Indigenous community members came together to collaborate on three yard sign designs for Pioneer Square during the stay-at-home order. Danielle Morsette (Suquamish), Denise L. Emerson (Diné and Skokomish Enrolled), and Hailey Tayathy (Quileute) provided graphic artworks. Lushootseed texts were translated by the Puyallup Tribal Language Program, as well as Angee Harrington (Suquamish) with resources from the Tulalip Lushootseed Department. Satpreet Kahlon combined these elements in the designs, with help on messaging and outreach from Kimberly Deriana (Mandan / Hidatsa) and Asia Tail (Cherokee). Final files were then sent to the City’s team for printing and distribution. The entire process unfolded in one week! This project, administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture with Seattle Department of Transportation 1% for Art funds, brought income and art into our communities during this challenging time when so many lives have been drastically impacted by Covid-19.
It is especially fitting that these Indigenous designs are sited across what is now called Pioneer Square. Also known as “a place to turn around or to cross over” in the Coast Salish language, a major village was located there on what was once a wooded peninsula, next to a small lagoon fed by streams and nearby rivers, with easy access to the sea. The area remains a hub for inter-tribal travel and trade, and many Coast Salish and urban Native people continue to live and work in the downtown corridor.
Image by Danielle Morsette (Suquamish) | Lushootseed provided by the Puyallup Tribal Language Program | Design + Lettering by Satpreet Kahlon, with help from Kimberly Deriana (Mandan/Hidatsa) and Asia Tail (Cherokee) | Public Art Comes to Your Front Yard is funded by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
ƛ̓ububƛ̓ub, kʷaxʷalikʷ, ʔabalikʷ (be kind, be helpful, be sharing)
Danielle Morsette is a member of the Suquamish Tribe, one of the original communities with home territories extending through what is now Seattle. Morsette is a master weaver, who for nearly 15 years has been crafting Coast Salish patterns in wool textiles and wearable regalia, as well as other media. Through her work, she explores and celebrates the legacy of her ancestors. Here, one of Morsette’s digital designs is paired with a Lushootseed phrase provided by the Puyallup Tribal Language Program - ƛ̓ububƛ̓ub, kʷaxʷalikʷ, ʔabalikʷ. The words translate to ‘be kind, be helpful, be sharing’, which are basic virtues of Lushootseed-speaking cultures, extending beyond language into all other aspects of life.
To download a high resolution pdf file click here.
Image by Denise L. Emerson (Diné and Skokomish Enrolled) | Lushootseed provided by Angee Harrington (Suquamish) and the Tulalip Lushootseed Department | Design + Lettering by Satpreet Kahlon, with help from Kimberly Deriana (Mandan/Hidatsa) and Asia Tail (Cherokee) | Public Art Comes to Your Front Yard is funded by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
xʷiʔ kʷi gʷadsʔəsx̌əc (don’t be scared)
Denise Emerson was born in Shelton, Washington, the eldest daughter of Bertha Allen who was an enrolled Twana (Skokomish) Tribal Member and Danny Emerson, Sr. who was an enrolled Diné (Navajo) Tribal Member from Sanostee, New Mexico. She is an expert beadworker, who often starts her designs digitally, painstakingly mapping out every color placement in a grid before she begins beading. In this design Emerson honors the many generations of Native women who hold our families and communities together. Here we see them looking out in all directions - to the past, present, and future - as they soothe us saying ‘don’t be scared’ in Lushootseed.
To download a high resolution pdf file click here.
Image by Hailey Tayathy (Quileute) | Lushootseed by Puyallup Tribal Language Program | Design + Lettering by Satpreet Kahlon, with help from Kimberly Deriana (Mandan/Hidatsa) and Asia Tail (Cherokee) | Public Art Comes to Your Front Yard is funded by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
tix̌ix̌dubut čəxʷ (take care of yourself)
Hailey Tayathy is a member of the Quileute Nation and Seattle's premier Native American drag queen. Tayathy uses their queer Native experiences to inform their unique brand of drag. They aim to bring healing to Indigenous communities and to show everyone that Indigiqueers are still here and are stronger and more beautiful than colonized minds can imagine. This message is evident in their design of a rainbow extending between two raised hands - often a gesture of respect, acknowledgement, and gratitude in local tribal traditions. In Lushootseed text, we are reminded to take care of ourselves, inside and out. And don’t forget to wash your hands!
To download a high resolution pdf file click here.
