Native Movement Blog
Art, Celebration and Community: Reflections from our trip to Kotzebue with Protect the Kobuk
May 20, 2024 | Written By: Jessica Thornton, Trinity Villalobos and Brihannala Morgan
The end of April, 2024, was a momentous time for those fighting to stop the Ambler Road - firstly the Bureau of Land Management’s recommendation of the No Action Alternative to the Ambler Road, and secondly the selection of the Kobuk River as one of America’s most endangered rivers of 2024.
This news was met with excitement and celebration by the Alaska Native communities and allied activists who had been leading the fight against the Ambler road across northern Alaska. Three Native Movement staff – Jessica Thornton (Arts in Action lead), Trinity Villalobos (Interior Organizing Fellow) and Brihannala Morgan (Campaign Development Lead) – had the honor of traveling to Kotzebue to join Protect the Kobuk, a grassroots organization of Northwest Arctic residents that gathered over 700 signatures from local people against the road, in their celebration.
The evening was filled with joy; Protect the Kobuk hosted a Kobuk River foods potluck with speeches expressing gratitude to everyone who had been organizing for so long and had made these two victories a reality. As Native Movement, we brought screen printing supplies and together with the community printed 50 shirts and over 20 patches (including a set for sled dogs racing in the Kobuk 440!). Jessica taught community members how to screenprint, and we left screen printing supplies so that Protect the Kobuk can continue printing on their own in the future.
“This event was a good reminder of how important it is to take the time and the effort to celebrate the wins that we have with our communities and partners! Connecting with others over our shared visions for the future, making art together, sharing appreciations and food with each other, and creating joyful spaces are such an important part of our work. It makes our movements sustainable for the long run. We always have more work to do and the Ambler Road project might not be gone forever, but the connections we made will make us stronger for the next round. I’m so deeply grateful to all the organizers across Alaska who have been fighting this fight for so long, and thank you to everyone in Kotzebue who made this trip an unforgettable experience.”
- Jessica Thornton, Arts & Action Lead, Native Movement
“ This trip was a good reminder of how much my passion for this work is rooted in a connection with the land and with the people whose fight to protect it. While the event itself was really successful, and it felt great to be able to share Native Movement’s resources with screen printing, training, and supplies, it was the times that we spent with Ruth, Stacey, Susan, Chad, and others and hearing about their lives at camp, about how the river and land had provided for them that I will remember the most deeply. It was an honor and a joy to share a meal, hear stories, and celebrate together.”
- Brihannala Morgan, Environmental Justice Campaign Development Lead, Native Movement
“I’m so amazed that my job is getting to learn firsthand about community organizing by supporting incredible organizers, advocates, and community groups who do awesome things. My main role during this project was supporting logistics. I booked hotels and flights, worked with the City Parks and Recreation on booking and setting up the venue, helped facilitate meetings and our travel itinerary to help organize the trip, and did on-the-ground support for the day of the art build. I don’t have a lot of experience with trips like this, so it was a series of many firsts for me! It felt incredible to be hosted and welcomed into a new community. I hold so much gratitude for our hosts who toured us around the town, helped out with transporting supplies, and let me borrow proper boots when I came with ones that wouldn’t work. Thank you to Ruth and her family, Stacey, and Susan who really did so much for us to have a great time.”
- Trinity Villalobos, Interior Organizing Fellow, Native Movement
A bright new mural builds Indigenous Joy on Lower Tanana Dene lands
Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day — we are celebrating the joy of community art creation and representation.
The art wall at the Native Movement Fairbanks office features Minto elder Vernell Titus and the knowledge she shared this summer with young people at the Nenana culture camp. The mural text reads, "What the hands do, the heart learns."
Gratitude to everyone who helped create and celebrate — an expression of Indigenous joy today and every day — Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!
Gratitude for the collaboration between Native Movement, NDNCollective, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, and so many community members!
EVENT: Fairbanks Community Mural Project Celebration
Please join us Tuesday Sept. 13th, 12:00PM in Fairbanks at 60 Hall St. to celebrate the creation of our first community mural project as we recognize the artists, and featured community members including local elder Vernell Titus, local Native youth, and Native Movement staff leader, Naawieyaa Tagaban (Lingit). There will be food, hot drinks, and a community blessing led by our community organizers.
The photographs used in this mural were taken by Native Movement staff photographer Jeff Chen. The mural installation was a collaboration between Native Movement, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, and NDN Collective. The featured phrase – “What the hands do, the heart learns” – is a principle of the organization Movement Generation.
The mural focuses on large photographs taken during the recent Nenana Youth Culture Camp in July and was in collaboration of many hands in our community. There will be a performance by a local drumming group with song and prayer to bless the collective effort that went into the creation of this prominent art piece at the intersection of Wendell Ave and Hall St. across from the Morris Thompson Cultural Center.
This is the first phase of a collaborative community project and we want you to be involved! Submit to our interest form here.
Closing Thoughts from Arts in Action Fellow
As Claire wraps up her Arts in Action Fellowship Program with Native Movement, we wanted to express our deepest gratitude to her for her work and support during the past three months. We look forward to seeing where her art practice takes her! Here are some final reflections on her time with us:
My time as Native Movement’s Arts in Action fellow is coming to a close. It has been a three month journey in which I have spent a week in Sitka with the team, attended the Just Transition Summit in Anchorage, learned to screen print, and have worked independently to create a piece to share with Native Movement.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to create a piece of art that reflects my shared values with Native Movement. I decided to make a piece on language revitalization. I am so excited that it will be shared within the community.
Though I have enjoyed the entire three months, a highlight that will remain with me is our first week together in Sitka. I loved that the organization’s annual planning meeting was centered around an important community event; the yaaw ḵu.éex’. That initial week was a good indicator of how the rest of my experience would be. Native Movement is a truly community focused organization and I am so happy that my art is in good hands with them.
The Arts in Action Fellowship with Native Movement is a 3-month part-time position which provides hands-on experience working with our team. The goal of this Fellowship is to give space to be creative in a collaborative environment, build capacity in our communities for Arts in Action, and support BIPOC, and queer artists/creatives who are interested in expanding their skills around Arts organizing.
Your Language Loves You
Written by Claire Helgeson
As the current Arts in Action fellow, one of my tasks is to complete a piece for Native Movement to use that is relevant to the work they do as an organization. For this blog post, I wanted to share about the inspiration behind the piece I am creating.
One of the reasons my language journey is sustained despite the difficulty and obstacles is the grounding, healing, and strength it brings me. It gives me firm ground to walk in this world, and is much of the inspiration for my art. It is like a mother figure that is life affirming and nurturing, as well as providing rules to live by .
Our mothers are the first voices we hear, they are our first teachers. Intergenerational language transmission depends so much on the linguistic link between mother and child. I have witnessed so many powerful women language warriors who are determined to give their children the most precious gift of language and knowledge of who they are, because they know this will sustain them for the rest of their lives. It inspires me everyday at work seeing strong women who are building a school because there wasn’t one fit to teach their children what they wanted them to know about themselves and where they come from.
Our languages are meant for us.
They come from previous generations who always were aware of us and our wellbeing. They come from lands that sustained us, and they are the sound of the love for the land our peoples always had. Our languages love us in turn by soothing and healing colonial breakages in our minds, surrounding us with a container for our lives, and reforming a bridge for the deepest level of connection to others.
The Arts in Action Fellowship with Native Movement is a 3-month part-time position which provides hands-on experience working with our team. The goal of this Fellowship is to give space to be creative in a collaborative environment, build capacity in our communities for Arts in Action, and support BIPOC, and queer artists/creatives who are interested in expanding their skills around Arts organizing.
Introducing Arts in Action Fellow, Claire Helgeson!
My name is Claire Helgeson and I’m the 2022 Arts in Action fellow at Native Movement! I grew up in Seattle, Washington, and have lived on Áak’w Ḵwáan land, Juneau, for five years. My family originates from Scan- dinavia and the Celtic regions of Europe. I carry the Woosheektaan name Shkaayiltín. Alongside making art, I work with Tlingit and Haida’s Lingít language immerson preschool, Haa Yoo X̱ ’atángi Kúdi.
My passion for Indigenous language revitalization inspires much of my work. Being in the Lingít language community in Juneau has brought so much into my life. I am inspired by the powerful healing that our languages bring. I have encountered this healing globally in my travels to Ireland to learn my ancestral language, Gaeilge. I am excited to find ways to continue to express the link between my art and my love for language through this fellowship.
Ireland is my place of inspiration. I have been traveling there since 2018. Beginning
to learn the language has been an abundant journey for me. I love drawing connections between my experiences in the language there and here in Juneau. When I am there I gather new ideas and inspiration to bring back to my studio. I find balance as an artist by doing collaborative projects with people in Alaska and in Ireland. I am grateful for the full life I have!
Instagram: @claire.helg
https://www.clairehelgeson.art
The Arts in Action Fellowship with Native Movement is a 3-month part-time position which provides hands-on experience working with our team. The goal of this Fellowship is to give space to be creative in a collaborative environment, build capacity in our communities for Arts in Action, and support BIPOC, and queer artists/creatives who are interested in expanding their skills around Arts organizing.
Arts, Action and Community in Utqiagvik
Aloha!
The three main objectives of my Arts In Action Fellowship with Native Movement are to: 1) Learn a new skill, 2) Host a Community Art Build, and 3) Create an Art Piece. Since my last Blog Post, I held my Community Art Build and learned about screenprinting!
COMMUNITY ART BUILD
For my Art Build, I hosted an Art Night in my home community of Utqiagvik with the help of my sister Kawahine, Climate Justice Organizer; this event took place on Friday, October 29.
The goal of this Art Build was to provide a safe space for community members to express themselves through Art and to engage on topics/concerns regarding our northern communities.
Unexpectedly, the majority of the group were young Native men. People of all ages participated which allowed for great conversation, engagement and an opportunity to connect from different life experiences and perspectives.
I led the discussion by asking each participant what they envision for our communities and Kawahine asked what happiness meant to them which translated beautifully onto the canvases that they all got to bring home.
SCREENPRINTING
After several failed attempts, I eventually created my first successful screen print! My supervisor Jessi, Arts In Action Coordinator, walked me through the basics of Screenprinting which I've come to really appreciate as an artform. I learned very quickly that this process requires patience and careful attention. I created a (not-so-simple) design to try my hand at screenprinting.
My print portrays Arctic Alaskan tundra flowers: fireweed, cottonflower, wildflower and aqpik. Eventually, I got the hang of it and I felt so proud of myself and my cute little cloth print!
The past several weeks have been full of new experiences, reflection, and personal growth. I continue to learn more not only when it comes to arts organizing, but also learning more about myself as an artist. More to come, quyanaqpak!
- Kawai
The Arts in Action Fellowship with Native Movement is a 3-month part-time position which provides hands-on experience working with our team. The goal of this Fellowship is to give space to be creative in a collaborative environment, build capacity in our communities for Arts in Action, and support BIPOC, and queer artists/creatives who are interested in expanding their skills around Arts organizing.
Introducing Kawai Danner, Native Movement Arts + Action Fellow
My name is Kawai Danner and I am the Arts In Action Fellow! I’m so excited for this amazing opportunity with Native Movement and I can’t wait to share my journey with you along the way. I am writing from Utqiagvik, Alaska, my beautiful hometown. My native roots and upbringing have inspired the work I do today and the passion I have for healing & wellness.
It took me a long time to come out of my shell when it comes to art. I’ve always loved writing and journaling which was my way of expressing emotions and spilling my thoughts onto a page. I know how it feels to create a piece of art, unsure of others’ reaction or how it’s portrayed. Eventually, with the motivation from my family and the hopes of reaching out to and uplifting people, I embraced and invested in my creative side. My art process begins with a feeling which may arise from within myself or in response to my environment; this feeling translates to an idea which then makes its way onto the canvas. I sketch by hand and finalize the art piece digitally. I feel most creative when I’m meditating or when I’m simply taking time for myself. Art is powerful and can be used to inspire meaningful change.
Through this Fellowship, I hope to gain new skills and tactics in using art as the driving force in activism. My goal is to become equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to be able to run community art builds and to create spaces for native artists, activists, and community members to connect and have meaningful discussions. I’ll be learning new skills like screen-printing, stencils, messaging, the inner workings of arts organizing and much more!
Thank you | Mahalo nui loa | Quyanaqpak
-Kawai
Artist Bio:
Kawai Danner (she/her) is from the coastal village of Utqiaġvik, Alaska and the island of Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi; she is Iñupiaq, Native Hawaiian, and German. As a Portland State University student, she is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science: Public Service and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. Through her work, Kawai strives to be a part of real, positive change that empowers indigenous communities while paving the way to a more sustainable future. Through her art, Kawai advocates for freedom of self-expression and aims to shed light on issues affecting native people, native land, and native rights. She is deeply passionate about mental health awareness, youth & community wellness, and cultural revitalization.
Instagram: @kawai.babyy
Buy Prints: https://ko-fi.com/kawaibaby
The Arts in Action Fellowship with Native Movement is a 3-month part-time position which provides hands-on experience working with our team. The goal of this Fellowship is to give space to be creative in a collaborative environment, build capacity in our communities for Arts in Action, and support BIPOC, and queer artists/creatives who are interested in expanding their skills around Arts organizing.
Arts in Action Fellowship
Are you interested in using your creative superpowers to support the issues that matter to you and building your skills in Arts organizing?
Deadline extended to July 16!
The Arts in Action Fellowship with Native Movement is a 3-month part-time position which will give you hands-on experience working with our team. The goal of this Fellowship is to give you space to be creative in a collaborative environment, build capacity in our communities for Arts in Action, and support BIPOC, and queer artists/creatives who are interested in expanding their skills around Arts organizing.
While tangibles and skills-building will depend greatly on the individual Fellow and their experience and interests, goals of the Arts in Action Fellowship include:
● Building hard skills around messaging, screenprinting, lino printing, banner making, how to run an art build, etc.
● Deepening understanding of the issues and Programs that Native Movement works on
● Deepening understanding of political art, artistic activism and arts organizing
The ideal candidate for this Fellowship will be able to work independently, and depending on location, remotely. They will also be able to work collaboratively within our team and demonstrate a passion for using their creativity in creating positive change. Some experience of community organizing would be beneficial but is not a requirement, though a demonstrated desire to engage on environmental and social issues is a must.
The Kohtr’elneyh Workbook: A Visioning Guide for Families
This downloadable and printable workbook produced by Native Movement and in collaboration with the Alaska Just Transition Collective has been structured around the principles necessary for a Just Transition, as adapted from Movement Generation and Indigenous Environmental Network, and features coloring pages by artists Siqiniq Maupin, Apay’uq Moore, Jessica Thornton, Nabi Qureshi and Naaweiyaa Tagaban. Their artwork is then followed by descriptions and prompts designed to spark your own imagination!
