Living Earth Festival: Protecting the Elements

Oversight of protecting the earth’s natural resources and expansive habitats and ecosystems are taken seriously by Indigenous communities throughout the world. Their efforts are focused on the well-being of their homelands through conservation and sustainable management of the elements of nature: air, fire, water, and earth. Learn how Native innovators and practitioners are using Indigenous knowledge to steward and sustain the environment.

SCHEDULE
11 AM ET, Rasmuson Theater, Level 1

FILM| Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life

• Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life (USA, 2024, 60 min.)is inspired by the late Chexanexwh Larry Kinley, a Lummi fisherman and tribal leader. The film follows two Lummi families fishing for sockeye. As they come to grips with a depleting fishery, Larry asks: “Who Are We Without Salmon?” Celebrating the resilience and adaptive natures of salmon and the people, the film is a reflection on a spiritual life way centered on respect and gratitude for salmon. Directors: Darrell Hillaire (Lummi Nation) and Beth Basa Pielert

2 PM ET, Rasmuson Theater, Level 1

FILM| Resident Orca

• Resident Orca (Canada, 2024, 97 min.) tells the shocking true story of a captive whale’s fight for survival and freedom. After decades of failed attempts to bring her home, an unlikely partnership between Indigenous matriarchs, a billionaire philanthropist, killer whale experts, and the aquarium’s new owner take on the herculean task of freeing Lolita, captured 53 years ago as a child, only to spend the rest of her life performing in the smallest killer whale tank in North America. When Lolita falls ill under troubling circumstances, her advocates are faced with a painful question: is it too late to save her? Directors: Sarah Sharkey Pearce, Simon Schneider, Executive Producers: Squil-le-he-le Raynell Morris (Lummi), Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley (Lummi), James Costa, Lynne Kirby, Sarah Sharkey Pearce, Simon Schneider, Romney Grant, Melissa Gaucher

Potomac Atrium, Level 1
10 AM-5 PM

Visitors can meet with our speakers at informational tables in the Potomac Atrium throughout the festival. *Timing of individual talks to be confirmed.

TALK | Safeguarding Our Waters

• Living in respectful harmony with water and the creatures that make their homes in rivers, lakes, and oceans has been central to Indigenous lifeways since time immemorial. For many communities, salmon are central to their diets, culture, and economies. In the Pacific Northwest, the orca, or killer whale, is considered a guardian of the sea and symbol of the strength and power of family and community bonds. Learn how cultural leaders are working in and out of their communities to safeguard the water we all share.
• Raynell Morris, enrolled member and matriarch of the Lummi nation, will share her community work to safeguard the waters surrounding Lummi lands. Morris has worked to save orcas from captivity and to preserve the practice of salmon fishing among the Lummi. Morris is also known for her efforts on behalf of the community’s Sacred Land Conservancy. She is also recognized as the first Native American to be appointed as a staffer in the White House. 
• Raven Morris (Lummi) is an artist, canoe builder, cultural leader and conservationist in the Lummi community. He will share his art and discuss his commitment to canoe building. Morris believes that embracing a path forward for the environment starts with bringing people together in a community with culture...one paddle at a time.

TALK | Burning Issues: Cultural Land Management and Regeneration

• Indigenous practices in fire management may be the key to future prevention of what are now known as “super fires.” Elizabeth Azzuz (Yurok) leads a team of firefighters with the goal of rejuvenating Yurok land. She will discuss the importance of cultural land management and regeneration, as well as the relationship between the land and Indigenous tribes of California. Basket weaver Dorothy Obie-Sylvia (Yurok/Hupa/Karuk) joins Azzuz to discuss the importance of natural growth of plants which sustains the creation of traditional basketry of Indigenous communities.
• Elizabeth Azzuz is the Director of Traditional Fire at the Cultural Fire Management Council (CFMC). The mission of the CFMC is to facilitate the practice of cultural burning on the Yurok Reservation and Ancestral lands, which will lead to a healthier ecosystem for all plants and animals, long term fire protection for residents, and provide a platform that will in turn support the traditional hunting and gathering activities of Yurok.
• Dorothy Obie-Sylvia is a multidisciplinary artist of Yurok, Hupa, and Karuk descent whose work bridges traditional knowledge with contemporary expression. Born and raised on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in Northern California, she began learning the art of regalia-making and basketry at the age of eight, guided by her mother and the women of her community. Her artistry reflects both cultural preservation and creative innovation—each piece honoring ancestral techniques and stories rooted in her homelands. She also explores contemporary art forms through jewelry, fashion, photography, and graphic design that weave Indigenous identity into modern aesthetics. In 2023, she launched Mermery Designs, a clothing company that brings her creative vision into wearable form. Inspired by earth, water, people, and place, Mermery Designs blends cultural storytelling with bold, personal expression. Beyond her work as an artist, Dorothy is a devoted cultural educator. She has led numerous workshops throughout her community, collaborating with both elders and youth to foster intergenerational learning and preserve the legacy of river-based knowledge.

TALK | Roots of Resistance: A Fight for the Forest

• Ash trees are revered by many Indigenous cultures and are a vital component in cultural traditions, like basket weaving, which are passed down generation to generation. However, ash tree populations are dwindling due to the emerald ash borer, an invasive species of beetle. Learn how ash basket weavers are using their art to raise awareness and preserve this long held tradition. 
• Hailing from a prominent black ash weaving family in the Great Lakes region, Kelly Church (Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians) continues a tradition passed down from a long lineage of black ash basket weavers. From her father and other relatives, she learned basket weaving. While growing up in southwest Michigan, she learned the Odawa language from her paternal grandmother. Church is an advocate for the black ash trees and the survival of Indigenous traditions. As an educator, she raises awareness about the emerald ash borer and its threat to the ash trees.
• Award-winning Onondaga basket artist Ronni-Leigh Goeman has been weaving baskets since she was a teenager, under the mentorship of Akwesasne Mohawk weaver, Mae Big Tree. Goeman is a leader in raising awareness of the threatened black ash trees and its irreplaceable cultural significance to Haudenosaunee communities.

TALK | The Rise of the Buffalo Nation

• The Intertribal Buffalo Council is a collection of 80 tribes that help manage over 20,000 buffalo. Managing the land and environment needed for buffalo to survive is a mission of the organization. They are committed to reestablishing buffalo herds on tribal lands in a manner that promotes cultural enhancement, spiritual revitalization, ecological restoration and economic development.
• Delbert Chisholm (Taos Pueblo), treasurer of the ITBC, and Cece Big Crow (Oglala Lakota), Project Director of ITBC, will share the council's story and their work and engagement in key partnership initiatives that are dedicated to the restoration of the buffalo population throughout Indian Country. 

TALK | Preserving the Smithsonian Gardens’ Tree Collection

• With nearly 1,800 trees located across the Smithsonian campus, Smithsonian Gardens’ Tree Collection is one of the Smithsonian’s most visible, widespread, and accessible collections. Over 25 million visitors each year have a chance to engage with the Tree Collection, which offers many opportunities and unique challenges.
• Eric Calhoun and Christine Price-Abelow, horticulturists at Smithsonian Gardens, discuss how their teams care for the Tree Collection throughout the seasons and highlight some of the significant species in the collection.

Image: Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life (film still), courtesy of director, producer and writer Beth Pielert

The National Museum of the American Indian’s annual Living Earth Festival brings together Native innovators and practitioners dedicated to using Indigenous knowledge to protect and sustain the environment.