Unbroken: Native Americans Today

Joe Seymour, Squaxin Island and Pueblo of Acoma Artist, 47 Years Old

For most urban Native Americans who grow up away from their traditional lands, having the opportunity to reconnect with their culture can be a life changing experience. For Squaxin Island and Pueblo of Acoma Native, Joe Seymour, his reconnection led to deep family bonding as well as a career change into becoming a well-known Seattle artist.

“I grew up in Camp Pendleton north of San Diego because my dad was in the Marines. It was a huge disconnect [from my heritage], because growing up in a military base, everything is really sanitized of anything cultural.

“It wasn’t until 2003, not until I was 30, when I really got plugged in. I did my first canoe journey with Squaxin, and before that one of my cousins taught me how to carve a paddle. Then after that another one of my cousins taught me how to make drums.

“My cousins, they learned from their dads, and their dads learned from their dads. So I’ve had all this knowledge come down from generations of my family. There’s a certain artistic style that we have, and it’s a huge honor to carry it on."

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