Directions to the museum are here. On Saturday, July 10, 8:00-10:30 pm, the Vashon Heritage Museum will host the opening of Whale People: Protectors of the Sea, an exhibit developed by The Natural History Museum--a Vashon-based traveling and pop-up museum led by artists, activists, and scholars.. The outdoor exhibit features a 3,000-pound killer whale (orca) totem carved by the House of Tears Carvers of Lummi Nation alongside an immersive IMAX-style film installation that tells the story of environmental emergency through the figure of the orca. “We Pacific Northwesterners are known for our love of the outdoors and for our waters,” says The Natural History Museum’s Executive Director Beka Economopoulos. “There is no greater prism than the plight of the orcas through which we can grasp the extinction crisis we face. This exhibit centers Indigenous ways of relating to the natural world and invites visitors to take action to protect the Salish Sea, the orcas, the salmon, and our collective future.” Whale People: Protectors of the Sea, which will run until August 28, is part of the Vashon Heritage Museum’s new exhibition Natural Wonder: An Island Shaped by Water. Created in partnership with the Vashon Nature Center and other community partners, Natural Wonder is an interactive and collaborative experience that explores how all life on the island is intricately connected and shaped by its relationship with the waters of the Puget Sound. “Both Whale People and Natural Wonder explore our relationship with the natural world,” says Vashon Nature Center Executive Director Bianca Perla. “We are in a pivotal moment in history when we are being called to question our dominant way of operating, especially with the environment, and to seek other stories to guide us. These exhibits elevate stories of human connection to nature throughout human history and introduce us to the individual stories of different wondrous animals and plants that share this island with us.” Whale People: Protectors of the Sea’s film component is an award-winning short film narrated by the late Chief Bill James (Lummi), Master Carver Jewell James (Lummi), and Amy Ta’ah George (Tsleil-Waututh). The impetus for the film and creating the exhibit was the display of grief by Tahlequah, an orca who famously carried her dead calf for 17 days in 2020. Economopoulos hopes the display allows people to reconcile with climate change and environmental issues, but do so in a hopeful manner. “To see art is […]