Exhibition by
House of Tears Carvers of the Lummi Nation and The Natural History
Museum
@ Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, October 2017
-- April, 2018
Kwel Hoy': We Draw the Line! is a cross-country tour, traveling
museum exhibition and series of public programs uplifting Indigenous
leadership in struggles to protect water, land, and our collective
future.
For the last five years, the House of Tears Carvers and members
of the Lummi Nation have traveled across North America with a totem
pole to raise awareness about threats to the environment and public
health. As the pole travels, it draws a line between dispersed but
connected concerns, helping to build an unprecedented alliance of
tribal and non-tribal communities as they stand together to advocate
for a sustainable relationship between humanity and the natural
world.
In this exhibition, the totem pole enters a museum for the first
time, where it is paired with a collection of artifacts collected
along the route of the Totem Pole Journey. Charged with the stories
of resilience they have picked up on their journey across the country,
they connect the museumand the museum publicto the living
universe in which they are enmeshed.
Linking the museum in a chain of solidarity with Indigenous
Peoples across the country, this exhibition stands as a powerful
bridge between the museum of natural history and the communities
that are working hardest, in the words of the American Alliance
of Museums Code of Ethics, to foster an informed appreciation
of the rich and diverse world we have inherited
.[and to] preserve
that inheritance for posterity.
During the 6 months the exhibition is on display, a series of
public screenings, discussions, workshops, and tours with The Natural
History Museums mobile museum bus will explore local efforts
to protect the environment, public health, and local cultures --
connecting history to the present, and the museum to the world beyond
its walls.
About The Natural History Museum
Established in 2014, The Natural History Museum is mobile and
pop-up museum initiated by Not An Alternative, a collective of artists,
scientists and scholars. Named in The New York Times and ArtNets
Best in Art in 2015 round-ups, the groups work
has been widely exhibited in museums nationally and internationally.
About the Lummi Nation
The Lummi, also known as Lhaq'temish, or People of the Sea, are
the original inhabitants of Washingtons northernmost coast
and southern British Columbia.
The Natural History Museum is a mobile and pop-up museum that
highlights the socio-political forces that shape nature. The Natural
History Museum is an independent museum that does not take money
from the fossil fuel industry or corporate polluters. We rely on
individual donations from people just like you. Please consider
making a donation to support our work: http://thenaturalhistorymuseum.org/donate.
Programs
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Pole Blessing Ceremony
Oct. 25, 2017 - Oct. 25, 2017 Carnegie Museum of Natural History,
Pittsburgh, PA
Acclaimed master carver Jewell Praying Wolf James (Lummi Nation)
and Doug James (Lummi Nation) of the House of Tears Carvers
will take part in a totem pole blessing ceremony led by Faith
Spotted Eagle (Yankton Sioux), marking the openings of the
ICOM NatHist conference Museums in the Age of Humanity and
the new exhibition Kwel Hoy: We Draw the Line. read
more
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Lummi Totem Pole Journey in Pittsburgh
Oct. 23, 2017 - Oct. 23, 2017 Carnegie Museum of Natural History
For the first time the Totem Pole Journey will come to Pittsburgh.
Join us in this unique, Indigenous-led event that will thread
together our hearts and minds because what moves us is also
what motivates us. read
more
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