North Coast Otters Art Initiative
The North Coast Otters – Public Art Initiative arose from a desire to share what we are learning about wild river otters with the community through an educational art festival and treasure hunt.
The initiative provides an opportunity for our community to connect with the North American river otter by merging art and science.
The project commissioned 108 local artists to decorate 108 three foot-tall otter sculptures which will be displayed at shops, galleries, schools, and other North coast locations throughout Humboldt, Del Norte, and neighboring counties.
Our mission:
“Promoting clean water and healthy habitats where we live and play!”
While the treasure hunt was set to begin in May 2020 – given necessary social distancing measures to reduce the spread of Covid, we’ve adapted the festival. On World Otter Day, May 27, 2020 we launched the initial ‘sneak peek’ of the otter sculptures virtually.
The festival will eventually transition from virtual to “in-person”. This transition will be timed to ensure safety for our community members and support local businesses.
The term river otter
River otters are known by local tribes in the region by the following names:
Every river otter has a story to tell.
Meet the otter sculptures on our logo.
Íshaha Uum Imyáahti (Water is Life) – Lyn Risling
“For the Karuk People and other Tribes of northern California, water is our life blood. For many generations, our peoples, like the otter, lived along the rivers and creeks, (and many still do) and relied on these water sources and the ocean, for our food, such as salmon, eels, sturgeon, trout, and shellfish. We consider ourselves kin to all the animal and plant life who also rely on these water sources that sustained a rich and balanced life and supported our ecosystems for thousands of years.
Along with the Otter and other species of plants and animals, our future survival depends on clean water and healthy natural environments.” – Lyn Risling, www.lynrisling.com.
This sculpture is hosted at the Karuk Tribe Peoples Center.
Tribal affiliation: Karuk/Yurok/Hupa.
Na:’ndiyay-ch’e’ (return: she [girl] came back [home]) – Melitta Jackson
“When this project was brought to my attention, I had it in my mind that the theme was “Otter Resurgence” and wanted to convey that with the resurgence of native practices, specifically the “Flower Dance”. I watched my cousin have her Flower Dance, a coming of age ceremony for girls transitioning into young women (i.e. they start menstruating). My cousin was the first in 20+ years to have a Flower Dance in Hoopa. My favorite part was watching from the side of the dance house and listening to everyone’s songs. My second favorite was watching her emerge from the dance house the last morning of the dance, in full regalia as she danced with her mentor and father figure. I had my own Flower Dance several years later. There was so much more to it than I ever thought, but I found my favorite parts hadn”t changed, but expanded. What I tend to remember most often was running. The running was supposed to represent my journey in life, the paths we take. Kids ran after me, trying to get me to look back, or laugh. The kids are a representation of childhood, it”s ok to look back, but I had to keep moving forward. Laughing would just increase my wrinkles in old age. To represent the Flower Dance in the North Coast Otter Project as an otter dressed to run, I think, would be a good reminder of the progress we make in life. For something to almost disappear and to have it return in full force and support is something to witness, Flower Dance or Otter population.” – Melitta Jackson,www.instagram.com/bitterlyfun.
This sculpture is hosted at the Humboldt State University Library and sponsored by the HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation.
Tribal affiliation: Hupa / Karuk / Yurok / Modoc.
Luna – Jessica Slayton
This sculpture is hosted at the Del Norte Library Smith River Branch and sponsored by Pine Grove Elementary and the Del Norte Library Smith River Branch.
www.instagram.com/slayton.jas
Tribal affiliation: Yurok.
