The First People
2008
“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.
Red and yellow cedar
144 x 89 in. (365.8 x 226.1 cm)
Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2008.31
Provenance: Purchased from the artist
Photo: Nathaniel Willson