The First People

Date2008

Maker Susan Point Musqueam, Canadian, born 1952

Label Text“I am mostly inspired by nature and our connected human spirit. I try to illustrate our need to protect and restore our natural treasures and bring reflection and awareness to issues of concern in all our lives.” — Susan Point The homelands of the Musqueam First Nation are punctuated by meandering pathways of water as the Fraser River reaches the Strait of Georgia. The Salish Sea encompasses waterways from Olympia, Washington, to Campbell River, British Columbia, and west to Neah Bay, Washington. The many Indigenous Peoples living on the sea have practiced sustainable stewardship based on traditional ecological knowledge for millennia. This stewardship was interrupted only by the imposition of laws and borders by colonial governments. This artwork celebrates the First Peoples’ connection to the land and sea that bring them food, materials, and cultural practices.

Object number2008.31

ProvenancePurchased from the artist

Photo CreditPhoto: Nathaniel Willson

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, S'abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists, Oct. 24, 2008 - Jan. 11, 2009 (Victoria, British Columbia, Royal British Columbia Museum, Nov. 2009 - Mar. 2010). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, YOU ARE ON INDIGENOUS LAND: places/displaces, Apr. 6, 2019 - June 28, 2020. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022. Whistler, British Columbia, Audain Art Museum, Curve! Women Carvers of the Northwest Coast, November 23, 2024 - May 5, 2025.Published ReferencesDuncan, Kate C., American Indian Art magazine, Winter 2010, 35th Anniversary Issue, illustrated page 66

Credit LineMargaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions144 x 89 in. (365.8 x 226.1 cm)

MediumRed and yellow cedar