NEW THIS YEAR: Festival Collaboration with Hekiu: An Indigenous Artist Continuum

Cultural Coalition is honored to partner with Hekiu: An Indigenous Artist Continuum for this year's Portal to the Past Festival. Composed of a dozen artists who specialize in a variety of artistic mediums, members of Hekiu will be demonstrating painting, carving, traditional farming, and debuting a new short film. The film is about the work they have been doing around Oidbad, a breathtaking 218-foot historical indigenous mural created by lead artists Thomas Breeze Marcus and Dwayne Manuel with help from Jordan Manuel, Eagle Sky Jefferson II, RJ Lopez, Suk Fulwilder & Yessenia, Allen Lewis, Aaron Rivers, and Douglas Miles.

HEKIU (meaning past in the O’odham language) references all of the ancient past. This includes all the histories of the land beginning with O’odham presence, Piipaash groups later settling in the area, Yoeme populations migrating up from the south, and non-indigenous settlers coming into the area.

The purpose of HEKIU is to create accessibility for O’odham, Piipaash, Yoeme, and indigenous creatives to gather and connect through creative and artistic opportunities.

The group intends to: (1) support, advocate, and develop a resource group for creatives in this territory; (2) advise, consult, and provide resources for projects of various scales; and (3) connect and create partnerships with tribal entities.

Discover more about Hekiu, their artists, and the amazing projects they are working on at https://www.hekiu.org/