‘Our Painted Responsibilities,' 2014. Acrylic on canvas. 20 ft. x 24 ft. Currently in tour.
How do you understand the human connection to nature?
More than 100 people contributed their perspectives, stories, and symbols.
This mobile mural was created alongside the 2014 Totem Pole Journey, during which a 20-foot totem pole carved by Lummi Master Carver Jewell James traveled 6,000 miles with his family along proposed fossil fuel routes to connect and strengthen communities impacted by resource extraction.
The mural journeyed from the Columbia River Basin to the Salish Sea and east to the Alberta tar sands, offering a space for reflection and expression. Participants—including youth, elders, educators, artists, researchers, and community members—used paint to explore their daily connection to the natural world and their shared responsibility to care for it.
Artists/Facilitators (Volunteers): Nati Garcia, Jen Castro
Facilitator (Volunteer): Melanie Schambach
Partner Organizations: House of Tears Carvers
Funders: Native American Land Conservancy
"Water is the first Medicine"
(Destiny Stonechild, Cree)
