“Native communities continue to fight to protect the land, air, and waters. We continue to live instructions, traditional roles and responsibilities, which have been passed down from our origins as a peoples since the beginning of creation.” This is why, some Indigenous people, like Matt Remle (Hunkpapa Lakota), celebrate Native American or Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month. 

From local Native communities undertaking amazing achievements, in environmental sciences and food sovereignty, to Indigenous Peoples around the world who continue to fight for and protect their ancestral, lands and culture from erasure and the impacts of settler colonialism, Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month is a time for celebration, education, reflection and/or mourning. We honor all Indigenous peoples and their fight for sovereignty and self-determination. 

In honor of this month, we invite staff to consider the following:

Center Indigenous voices and knowledge throughout the year. Commit to continuing your learning journey this November and beyond. Talking over others, centering your own feelings, or silencing Indigenous voices is a form of erasure.

• Not Invisible Episode 1: We cannot be invisible any longer (Content Warning: Violence/murder against Indigenous womxn)
• “The Vastness of Indigenous Love: A Thanksgiving Reflection”
• “We are not American! We will die as Hawaiians, we will never be American!”

Stay curious. Take learning into your own hands. Be mindful of the emotional labor and toll it takes on Indigenous to continuously educate others about their history and experiences. 

• “A Marginalized History: Afro-Indigenous People and Black Seminole Indians”
• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz with Nikkita Oliver An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
• “A newspaper shines a light on missing Indigenous women with the help of technology”

Give Back to Indigenous communities in the form of land, money, resources, power and other forms of reparations. 

• Real Rent Duwamish 
• Why It’s Time To Give Native Americans Their Land Back
• Resources for Land Justice

Local Community Events & Resources 

Community Events 

• Now – Nov. 30: Native Art Online Auction (virtual, The Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center 
• Now – Dec. 11: Indigenous Matrix: Northwest Women Printmakers (Seattle Art Museum) 
• Now – Feb. 5: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: Honoring Our Stolen Sisters (Museum of Northwest Art) 
• Nov. 19: Free film screening: “Honor Thy Mother” (Everett Public Library) 
• Nov. 19 – 20: United Indians Native Art Market (Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center) 
• Nov. 20: Rethinking Thanksgiving: From Land Acknowledgements to LANDBACK (virtual, Zoom) 
• Nov 22 – 30: smARTfilms Series: Indigenous Film Makers (Bainbridge Island Museum of Art) 
• Nov. 25 – 27: The Duwamish Tribe Native Art Market (Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center) 
• Nov. 27: The Halluci Nation (Muckleshoot Events Center) 
• Dec. 12: Canoe Journey Herbalist (Tahoma Indian Center) 
• Dec. 21: Two-Spirit Gathering and Talking Circle (Seattle Indian Health Board)

Community Resources

• Eighth Generation: Eighth Generation is a Seattle-based art and lifestyle brand owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe. Eighth Generation provides a strong, ethical alternative to “Native-inspired” art and products through its artist-centric approach and 100% Native designed products. 

• Native and Strong Crisis Hotline: The first mental and behavioral health 988 crisis line in the nation tailored for Native and Indigenous people, run by an all-Native team, for Washington residents.

• Potlach Fund: Potlatch Fund is a Native-led nonprofit organization that provides grants and leadership development to Tribal Nations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. 

• Spirit Returns 2.0: A Duwamish and Settler Story: The revival exhibit, located both in the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center and Log House Museum, is a testimony or swələxʷ (perseverance) that shares the living lifeways of the Duwamish people. The exhibit is free and open to the public. 

• yəhaw̓: yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective’s mission is to help improve Indigenous mental and emotional health outcomes through artmaking, community building, and equitable creative opportunities for personal and professional growth.

• YOLTEOTL Press: An Indigenous printmaking and traditional arts studio owned by brainchild Ixtlixochitl Salinas-White Hawk, an Indigenous artist, community advocate, and matriarch.   

What's happening in October?

Mental Health Resources and Events