Donate

Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast

September 12, 2007–July 20, 2008
New York, NY

Listening to Our Ancestors explores how Native people along the coast of Washington State, British Columbia, and Alaska continue time-honored practices in an ever-changing modern world. The exhibition features more than 400 ceremonial and everyday objects, as well as commentary from representatives of eleven contemporary North Pacific Coast Native nations.

The exhibition includes a wide variety of pieces, from intricately woven and ornamented dance blankets to halibut fishing hooks, finely carved and painted masks of supernatural creatures to spoons carved from the horns of mountain goats. Each object reflects the creativity of people whose art has been collected by museums worldwide for more than a century.

This exhibition was also on view at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., February 3, 2006–January 2, 2007.

Makah model canoe and figures by Young Doctor, ca. 1900. Painted wood, black bear fur. (6/8874)
The Native nations of the Pacific Northwest are renowned for the beauty and complexity of their artistic traditions. From elaborately carved masks, dance regalia, woven hats, and feast bowls to tools and utensils, the objects connect one generation to the next and tell the stories of their makers. In this lavishly illustrated book, writers from eleven Northwest Coast communities convey the beauty and vitality of these treasures in the museum’s marvelous collection.
MORE »
The Listening to Our Ancestors exhibition explored how Native people along the coast of Washington State, British Columbia, and Alaska continue time-honored practices in an ever-changing modern world. Featuring more than 400 ceremonial and everyday objects, the exhibition also provided commentaries from representatives of eleven contemporary North Pacific Coast Native nations, a selection of which are presented here.
NMAIFVC_IMO_Film_Title_HTML_Link.html NMAIFVC_IMO_Film_Person_HTML_Link.html