The Protector is a Lhaq-temish-led multi-site public art project aimed at blessing and protecting the Salish Sea and all those who live on and love these waters.
This project celebrates the spirit of the Salish Sea, and the Straits Salish peoples who have relied on and taken care of these islanded waters since time immemorial.
Supporting the project is an invitation for relative newcomers (all of us who are not tribal!) to learn and to help steward this place in a good and sustainable way.
The Protector is an embodiment of Lhaq'temish shelangen –the traditional lifeways of the Lummi people– and of what artist Jason LaClair calls "Woman Strength," which is the name of the image he has created to help bring the Protector vision into being.
The Protector is five, identical, larger-than-life bronze statues of a Lhaq'temish woman in traditional regalia. Salmon swim at her feet, with a reef net anchor featured below. She looks out over salmon-rich waters and raises her hands in Hy'shqe (thanks).
She stands on 5 different sites on the islands and coastlines of the Straits Salish peoples, so that she can
- bless and protect fishermen and all those out on the water
- educate the public about the connection the Lhaq'temish people have had to these waters since time immemorial, and how all of us can belong to this place in a good way
- celebrate the reef net fisheries that once were throughout the islands; the ancestral maritime routes; and how Lhaq'temish villages were connected by kinship, language, and sxwole.
- Hy'shqe / give thanks to Salmon Woman and the abundance of the Salish Sea
One site for the Protector will be at Gooseberry Point, on the Lummi Nation. This Protector will be the site for an annual Blessing of the Fleet, as most Lummi fisherman leave and come back to Gooseberry Point when fishing. This Protector will also be a memorial, as the names of fishermen lost at sea will be inscribed on her base.
The Protector is the vision of Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley, whose family has fished the Salish Sea for every generation since forever. Artist Jason LaClair has realized that vision in the 2 dimensional piece of art you see here.
Acclaimed sculptor Haiying Wu has been commissioned to design and cast the five Protector statues. He recently finished the Billy Frank, Jr statue that will be permanently homed in Washington, DC. He has already created a sculptural sketch of The Protector, and is currently working on a four-foot high detailed model, that will be scanned and scaled up for casting.
Our total budget for the design and production of the statues, bases, and educational plaques; for securing the 5 sites; and for all related administration, is $400,000.
We hope to raise enough funds here to pay for at least one Protector statue and installation. The Sacred Lands Conservancy, a 501c3 non-profit committed to protecting and revitalizing the life, waters, Treaty rights and sacred sites of the Salish Sea, is managing the project. We are also looking to partner and collaborate with other non-profits, organizations, and entities.
We are grateful to each and every one of you, individuals who are working for a future where we all feel a sense of gratitude, belonging, and respect towards Mother Earth and all her waters.
Organizer
Sacred Lands Conservancy
Beneficiary