PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Library System, which oversees Clallam County public libraries, will celebrate Native Northwest art and culture on its virtual platforms with special presentations and performances beginning Monday.
Videos, events and resources will be curated on the website at nols.org/Indigenous-Peoples-Day, as well as on Facebook and YouTube, in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, which is Monday.
Original videos will offer a glimpse into the cultural heritage of tribes from the Olympic Peninsula.
They will help viewers make a canoe bookmark with Salish artist Ty Juvinel, hear musician Black Belt Eagle Scout perform and discover Native reads, organizers said.
Juvinel is a graphic designer, painter and carver.
He started carving at the age of 11.
A graduate of the Seattle Art Institute, he works full time as a carver on the Tulalip Reservation.
His work can be seen at Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle, the Edmonds Interpretive Museum, the National Indian Gaming Association Office in Washington, D.C., and at the Billy Frank Jr. Low Income Housing Institute.
Black Belt Eagle Scout, also known as Katherine Paul, is a member of the Swinomish Tribe and an alternative rock musician.
Her music has been featured on KEXP and she recently performed in the 2019 Thing Festival.
Her debut album, “Mother of My Children,” was written to help provide support and encouragement to protesters at Standing Rock.
Her recent album, “At the Party With My Brown Friends,” reflects her recent life.
“Within my conscious self, there is always a sense of questioning the legitimacy of the world when you grow up on an Indian reservation,” Paul said.
“We are all at the party (the world), trying to navigate ourselves within a good or bad situation. I happen to be at the party with my brown friends-Indigenous, Black, POC who always have my back while we walk through this event called life.”
Funding for this program was made possible by the Friends of the Library Groups in Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks and Clallam Bay.
