About the Duwamish Greeting Card Project

Westside is located on the ancestral lands of the Duwamish people in a glorious region rife with natural resources from our gorgeous sound, tall-reaching trees, and the most beautiful sunsets. This is a land that has been settled and home to people for thousands of years longer than our country has been around. Our nation does not have a proud history with its treatment of indigenous people, as evidenced by numerous broken treaties and unfulfilled promises. While we cannot turn back the clock and promote a better past, we can do what we can to improve the future. Including children in this work not only empowers them to make positive change but helps them see themselves as shapers of a more just society.

The first stage of our greeting card project was to use Westside’s land acknowledgment as the root of a class discussion where we could share ideas and build questions. Following that, students were given an element (water, earth, air, spirit) to focus on. They shared where/how they connect with their element, what food or drink best represents the element, and how the element feels. From there they made drafts of their design; a rectangle work of tissue paper representing their element.

No two pieces look the same, but they all capture the Pacific Northwest, and they are all coming from a wish to capture the artists’ experience with the world and a desire to be on the side of justice. We invite our community to buy some of our cards; all proceeds will go to Real Rent Duwamish, an organization that passes contributions “directly to Duwamish Tribal Services (DTS) to support the revival of Duwamish culture and the vitality of the Duwamish Tribe.” This drive will run from March 15, 2022, to March 31, 2022. 

Click here to read the full Blog post about this project.