Arts and Literature

“Bless Me, Ultima” Is Still A Must-Read Chicano Classic

From The Daily Chela (by Brianna Montoya) – A reflection on Rudolfo Anaya’s 1972 coming of age novel “Bless Me, Ultima”.

New Indigenous children’s series brings language to life

From Indian Country Today (by Miles Morrisseau) – With his ‘Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak’ series of books, Rocky Cree author William Dumas hopes to keep his peoples’ language and stories alive.

Indigenize the Airwaves

From Tulalip TV – An introduction to Daybreak Star Radio Network and how they’re using music education to reconnect Indigenous, Native American, and First Nations people to their heritage.

The Salish Sea Butoh Festival comes to Port Townsend this summer

From International Examiner (by Roxanne Ray) – The Salish Sea International Butoh Festival’s second year celebrates the Japanese dance form on the Olympic Peninsula.

Black Arts Legacies: Tariqa Waters

From Crosscut (by Kemi Adeyemi) – A profile of bold and disruptive Seattle visual artist and curator, Tariqa Waters.

Language Keepers Podcast Series

From Emergence Magazine – As Indigenous languages struggle to survive, this six-part podcast series investigates four vulnerable languages in California and the communities working to revitalize them.

From Garfield to Black Panther: Nnedi Okorafor on the Power of Comics

From Lithub (by Nnedi Okorafor) – “My path to writing the big black cat started with a fat orange cat.” Read Nnedi Okorafor’s powerful foreword to a new collection of Marvel’s Black Panther stories.

Black Arts Legacies: Ishmael Butler

From Crosscut (by Kemi Adeyemi) – A look at the life and career of celebrated Seattle rapper Ishmael Butler.

Kabby Mitchell: ‘Radically imaginative’ ballet dancer

From Crosscut (by Jasmine Mahmoud) – A retrospective on Kabby Mitchell, the first Black dancer in the Pacific Northwest Ballet and co-founder of the Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center.