More Than You Realize
Joe Wahalatsu? Seymour Jr. (Squaxin/Acoma Pueblo)
woven archival paper, conservation framing. 47” x 32” x 1.63”
This is a weaving of a map of Puget Sound from 1867 and a graphic image of a school of salmon. I created this piece to highlight how important salmon are, not just to the Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest, but to the animals of the area and to the land. For Native peoples the salmon are our life blood–if there are no salmon, there will be no people. But salmon are equally important to the animals of the region as well. Predators like bears and eagles will take the salmon out of the water and use them to nourish their bodies. After the animals have taken what they need from the salmon they leave the carcass on the ground. Over time, the carcass breaks down and feeds vital nutrients into the land. The trees and the fauna of the temperate rain forests are dependent on these carcasses. If we take care of the habitat of the salmon, then we can have healthy salmon runs which, in turn, means that we can have predators that have enough to eat and we have forests that can thrive and support other types of life.
