” A long time ago, the sky was too low. Tall people kept bumping their heads. Many different communities gathered to do something about it. They spoke different languages but realized they only needed to know one word in common to understand each other. That word was yəhaw̓ – that means to proceed, to go forward, to do it. The people made long poles out of saplings and lifted them against the sky. They heaved upwards as they called out yəhaw̓ in unison to synchronize their efforts. After a few tries, they succeeded – changing the world as we know it. Together, we can lift the sky.”
-Lushootseed traditional narrative, yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective website
Founded in 2017, yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective is a community of interdisciplinary Indigenous creatives working to “improve Indigenous mental and emotional health outcomes through art, community building, and equitable creative opportunities for personal and professional growth.” What began as a yearlong pop-up art project has grown into a community of intertribal Indigenous artists rematriating Coast Salish land to create a “welcoming interdisciplinary hub where Indigenous creatives can connect with each other and the earth,” with programming around artmaking and ecological education.
yəhaw̓ has partnered with the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture to host an exhibition at King Street Station. The display featured artwork from more than 200 Indigenous creatives ranging from expert artisans and Elders to youth and emerging creatives showcasing their work publicly for the first time. The exhibition drew thousands of visitors and highlighted the community desire for a Native-owned space to gather, create, heal, and harness their relationship with the land. This inspired the organizers to establish a 501c3 and pursue the purchase of a 1.5-acre parcel of land in South King County to build their dream. Through fundraising efforts and support from the City of Seattle’s Economic Development Initiative, yəhaw̓ completed the purchase in late 2022. Two years later the group purchased a 1,270 square foot home adjacent to the property to serve as a Indigenous art and community center.
“Right relationship with the land depends on respect for Indigenous bodies. It is our shared responsibility to protect the personal sovereignty of women, youth, Elders, Two Spirit people, and all our relatives.”
This year, yəhaw̓ was awarded a Food Equity Fund (FEF) grant to restore an on-site greenhouse, expand public access to green space in Rainier Beach, and engage local Indigenous and BIPOC communities in land restoration through gardening, planting events, and ecological workshops. This project will also include free arts and cultural programming that centers Indigenous Traditional Knowledge to provide hands-on opportunities for community members to engage with Indigenous practices, highlighting the intersections of food sovereignty, Native art, cultural traditions, medicine-making, and plant processing.
As a partner with yәhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective, both through Food Equity Fund and Executive Director Asia Tail’s service as a member of the Seattle Indigenous Advisory Council, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) staff were interested in visiting the yәhaw̓ site to learn more about the organization and support their community building work. This fall, yәhaw̓ staff welcomed DON staff to their space providing a tour of the land from the garden beds and former greenhouse to the old greenhouse and Mapes Creek. They explained more about the history of the land and their work to rematriate it.
DON is very appreciative of the opportunity to learn more from the team doing such incredible and beautiful work. We look forward to continued partnership with them for years to come!
Interested in visiting yәhaw̓? Visit yehawshow.com to see a schedule of events and workshops, or, come spring, you can check out their weekly Open House Volunteer Days, which are open to the public March-October.
