Clearly Indigenous Audio Exhibition
Gifts from the Sea
Hello, I’m Emily Holtrop, the museum’s director of learning and interpretation. I will be sharing the introduction to the “Gifts from the Sea” section of Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass.
Native Americans traditionally have regarded all of nature as an integrated whole, and nature often plays an important role in tribal ceremonies and art. Legends and stories often involve animals of the land, sky, rivers, and oceans.
While water creatures play a role in all Indigenous American cultures, they are particularly important to the Nations inhabiting island and coastal areas. The influence of living in these areas, and drawing food and other resources from the sea, has led artists to incorporate these sea creatures into their creative efforts. The beautiful fish and sea animals shown here are created from blown glass that has been worked by hand.
Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Rim, spanning the United States’ Northwest Coast to the South Pacific, focus on the sea and the sustenance it provides. Water imagery is often incorporated into art to express concern for the environment, especially the rising oceans. Additionally, rivers have played a significant role in the siting of settlements for tribes, as well as for trapping and catching fish for sustenance, which can also be seen in this art. Killer whales, or orcas —which are the largest member of the dolphin family —are important in Native legends and are frequently depicted in the art of Northwest Coast communities. The orca is said to protect those who travel from home and to help lead them back.