The challenges of the past two years have changed the way we live, the way we work, and the way we show up for each other. They have also given us a rare chance to collectively reimagine our future. Through the Reimagine Seattle Storytelling Project we invite community members to reflect on their current experiences in Seattle, how they have been impacted by recent events, and their hopes for the future of our city.

A Remembrance of the Present

by Raven Two Feathers

So far from ancestral lands, and yet still at home.

Osiyo; nya:wëh sgë:nö’; sgę́:nǫˀ; haa marúawe; ʔi, syaʔyaʔ. Raven Two Feathers ti dsdaʔ. tul̕ ʔal čəd ti Tiwa occupied territory. Tsalagi čəd čəda Onödowáʼga꞉ čəd čəda Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ čəd čəda Nʉmʉnʉʉ.

Thank you to the ancestors of this land, these waters. The little crossing over place where so much strength is exchanged, uplifted between relatives from across Turtle Island. There are many Natives not native to here, but all the same, we are family. And so, we care for each other, reach out to each other, and love each other enough to uphold each other to our highest selves. Connected by similar, disparate cultures which have called us back to remembrance. Through the chaotic silence we return to the root of our breath. As we always have: always are, always will

…Be…

Ever present is our survivance, only now realized by others. We have been through this since those first feet of an inept Genoan Genocider devastated the southern islands.

And yet we remain steadfast in community, as self-imposed toilet paper fears fuel feuds, divides among a People. The People remember what happened when we refused to recognize our collective need. The People recognize our intertwined fates with relations stolen from across the waters. The many have become an allied collage. Astute stewardship and sovereignty, ready to guide our way forward. To see what we need, is to look back to a long time ago, and in it, see our futures, together.

To the omnipresent ancestors of past, present, and future: for all that you do for us,

t’igʷicid.

Raven Two Feathers (Cherokee, Seneca, Cayuga, Comanche) (he/they) is a Two Spirit, Emmy award winning creator based in Seattle, WA. Originally from New Mexico, they spent their childhood moving and exploring Indigenous cultures across the continent and Pacific. They made their first explicitly Indigenous film during Tracy Rector’s Superfly program.  They returned to New Mexico to attend Santa Fe University of Art & Design, graduating magna cum laude with a BFA in Film Production.  After graduation, their path led them to working on and creating more Indigenous art than ever and things began to feel right. They have been able to explore new mediums without the Western fear of imperfection hindering them.  They recently released a comic-based zine, “Qualifications of Being,” about their journey of realizing they are trans and Two Spirit.

Submissions for the Reimagine Seattle Storytelling Project were commissioned by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. The opinions expressed and information contained in each submission do not necessarily reflect the policies, plans, beliefs, conclusions, or ideas, of the City of Seattle.