The University of Oregon welcomes the Totem Pole Journey, the intertribal nonprofit organization Se’Si’Le, and The Natural History Museum’s Whale People exhibit to campus for a series of events May 5th through 8th, 2022.                                       

The Totem Pole Journey is led by members of Lummi Nation and the House of Tears Carvers. The 2022 totem pole journey is the latest in a dozen journeys conducted over the past 20 years. The 2022 journey builds upon, strengthens, and reaffirms the growing, Indigenous-led environmental movement across the Pacific Northwest that began with a successful campaign to oppose proposed fossil fuels projects in the region.                                                                                                                                                                               

The Totem Pole Journey inspires, informs, and engages Pacific Northwest communities through intergenerational voices, ceremony, art, science, spirituality, ancestral knowledge, and cross-cultural collaboration in support of the Indigenous-led movement to remove the Snake River dams and restore to health the Snake River salmon runs and our relatives, the Southern Resident Killer Whales (Skali’Chelh in the Lummi  language) that depend on them.

Whale People: Protectors of the Sea

Whale People: Protectors of the Sea is an exhibition by the art collective known as The Natural History Museum, featuring a 3,000 pound killer whale pole and salmon carvings created by Master Carver Jewell James and the House of Tears Carvers, and an award-winning outdoor IMAX-style film projection. Produced with Lummi and Tsleil-Waututh elders, the exhibition tells the story of today’s environmental emergency through the figure of the killer whale, and uplifts the leadership of Native Nations in coming together to protect natural and cultural heritage, the sacred waters, the orcas, the salmon, and our collective future.

Totem Pole Journey events at the University of Oregon from May 5th – May 8th, 2022:

Science in Ceremony Colloquium

Thursday, May 5th, 2:00 – 4:00 pm

EMU Gumwood Room  

Livestreamed @: https://youtu.be/FPaMvfaitcg

Sponsored by the Department of Philosophy

Art, Activism, and Ceremony 

Lunchtime presentation – Boxed lunches provided

Friday, May 6th, 12:00 – 1:30 pm

EMU Ballroom

Livestreamed @: https://youtu.be/THAAsiafw0E

Totem pole viewing and ceremony to follow on the EMU Green from 1:30 – 2:00 pm

Whale People and Totem Pole Exhibit and IMAX-Style Film Screenings

Friday, May 6th and Saturday, May 7th, 7:30-9:30

EMU Green 

Livestreamed @: https://youtu.be/CgefAQCCg6w

Additional details for events are forthcoming. For media or sponsorship inquiries or more information, email tpjuo2022@gmail.com.

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