A wholehearted thank you to the more than 550 people who joined us on April 22-23 in Portland, Oregon, to bring our new home to life. The two-day event included sharing, blessings, storytelling and performances and marked the official public opening of NACF’s Center for Native Arts and Cultures (the Center).
Opening night included blessings and ceremonies offered by Silas Hoffer (Grand Ronde) Mr. Montana Two Spirit, and Eva Angus (Niimiipuu, Tlingit, Pamunkey)/the 7 Waters Canoe Family, and a performance by the Kaleinani O Ke Kukui halau. Over 250 attendees were also able to explore the Center’s new gallery where works by seven Native artists make up the “Where the Waters Come Together” exhibition. The exhibition explores Indigenous perspectives of our relationships with rivers and oceans and features Native artists responding to fundamental questions around cultural buoyancy, biodiversity protection, food sources and material necessities, and the realities of the colonial reshaping of traditional access to waterways and shorelines.
We honor artists Greg Archuleta (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), Sean Gallagher (Inupiaq), Lehuauakea (Kanaka Maoli / Native Hawaiian), Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation), Andrew Michael (Yupik/Inupiaq/Polish), Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos), and Shirod Younker (Enrolled with Coquille Indian Tribe) for their invaluable contributions to the exhibition. For bios and to read more about the exhibition click here.
On Saturday, over 300 people attended an all ages Open House at the Center and took part in art making, storytelling, canoe carving and performances. We are grateful to the following community members and artists who made this a day of cultural celebration, sharing and fun: Ed Edmo (Shoshone Bannock), Talia Reasoner (Seminole and Toltec), Grupo Masato, Lukas Angus (Niimiipuu and Tlingit), Michaila Taylor (Yup’ik), Daniela del Mar (Atacama and Austrian), a.c.ramírez de arellaño (Taino), and Friends of Noise.
