The totem pole is a traveling monument to a way of relating to life and land that honors generations past, present, and future–of humans, non-humans, the water and the land.
National Museum of the American Indian
4th Street and Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC
Near the museum’s entrance on Maryland Avenue Floor Plan
Kwel’ Hoy: We Draw the Line is a cross-country tour, traveling museum exhibition, and series of public programs that uplift Indigenous leadership in struggles to protect water, land, sacred sites, and our collective future. The Lummi, also known as Lhaq’temish, People of the Sea, are the original inhabitants of Washington’s northernmost coast and southern British Columbia. Since 2014, members of the Lummi Nation have traveled across North America with a totem pole to raise awareness about threats to the environment and public health. Each journey builds an unprecedented alliance of tribal and non-tribal communities who together advocate for a sustainable relationship between humanity and the natural world.
The exhibition features large-scale graphics, videos, and a collection of objects curated by communities along the 2017 Totem Pole Journey.
On July 29, 2021, a totem pole carved by the House of Tears Carvers of the Lummi Nation will conclude its cross-country journey in Washington, D.C. The totem pole will be on view July 29–31, 2021, near the museum’s entrance on Maryland Avenue.
