Bay City marks Native American Heritage Month
Indigenous art, storytelling and traditional ecological knowledge will come together at the Bay City Arts Center for a two-day celebration of Native American Heritage Month this Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7.
Presented by the arts center, Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS and the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, the event will feature a gallery opening, a marketplace and a presentation exploring the lifeways of the Tillamook people. All events are free, with donations appreciated. Advance registration is required only for the presentation.
The weekend begins with a First Friday reception featuring Indigenous artists Kitana Connelly, Leonard Harmon and Amanda Freeman. Their work will remain on display throughout November as the arts center’s featured Artists of the Month exhibit, extending the opportunity to experience their artwork beyond the opening celebration.
The exhibit spotlights the ties to Oregon’s Native communities and Tribal homelands of the three artists. Connelly’s work is represented through Twahna Creation, Freeman’s through Ampkwa Images and Harmon’s through Leonard Harmon Fine Art.
Connelly is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and a descendant of the Molalla, Umpqua and Klickitat people of Oregon. A painter, illustrator, designer, muralist and author, she describes her creative practice as an ongoing journey of healing, connection and release.
Freeman is a skilled photographer based in Grand Ronde. With a passion for capturing her clients' visions, she brings their ideas to life through her lens. As an advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples, she is dedicated to using her photography to raise awareness and support for this important cause.
Harmon’s father was a furniture maker, who used geometric designs and would finish each piece with a painted feather. His mother and grandmother did bead work, he also has a cousin who does quill work and his uncle and namesake, Leonard Allen Harmon, was a well-known portrait artist featured in the Heard Museum of Arizona.
A citizen of the Lenape Tribe of New Jersey and the Nanticoke Tribe of Delaware, he currently resides on the Tribal lands of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
Together, the featured artists bring distinct creative perspectives to a shared exhibition honoring Indigenous artistry.
Friday’s reception offers a chance to explore the artwork and gather with other community members at the start of a weekend devoted to Native artists, businesses and cultural knowledge.
On Saturday, the Native American Marketplace will bring artists, makers and producers to the arts center. Goods will include food, teas, beadwork, abstract art, traditional crafts and other handmade items from Native American-owned businesses.
The marketplace gives guests an opportunity to purchase directly from entrepreneurs and artisans while learning about the people and traditions behind their work and provides a way to support Native-owned businesses as part of the month’s celebration.
Saturday’s program also includes “Traditional Ecological Knowledge on the Oregon Coast,” a presentation by Stephanie Craig and Molly Leno in the arts center auditorium. Both are co-executive directors of Rooted Ways, and Craig is also the founder of Kalapuya Weaving and Consulting.
Their presentation will explore the lifeways of the Tillamook people, whose ancestral lands and waters include the Netarts area. Through that local focus, Craig and Leno will discuss the enduring relationships among land, culture and community resilience.
Traditional ecological knowledge will be presented as a living system grounded in care, reciprocity and long-term environmental stewardship. The program will offer an opportunity to consider how knowledge connected to a particular place continues to inform relationships with the natural world.
Rather than approaching those traditions only as subjects of historical interest, the presentation will emphasize their continuing place in cultural life and environmental care. Its focus on the Oregon Coast connects the conversation to lands and waters familiar to many guests, while providing an opportunity to learn directly from cultural knowledge holders.
The program will include time for audience questions. Guests will also have opportunities to view cultural items, including baskets, plant materials and weaving displays, bringing tangible examples into the discussion of knowledge, materials and cultural practices.
Advance registration is required.
Friday’s opening reception runs from 5 to 7 pm. Saturday’s marketplace is open from 10 am to 4 pm and the ecological knowledge presentation runs from 1 to 3 pm. The Bay City Arts Center is located at 5680 A Street. To register for the presentation, go to netartsbaywebs.org. For more information, go to baycityartscenter.com.