A Historic Weekend of Culture and Community

West Shore Canoe Family performs at Maritime Heritage Park during "The Journey Begins: An Introduction to Setting Sun Circle" (photo by Grant Hindsley). Find more photos on our socials!

Rain began to fall as the West Shore Canoe Family pulled through Whatcom Creek on June 5. The canoe pullers assisted the Swe’lus family in returning the name Xw’otqwem, meaning “noisy water,” to their ancestral village site along the creek in what is today known as Maritime Heritage Park in Bellingham. The original name returned 171 years after the family’s ancestors were forced from the village to the Lummi Reservation. 

Cowichan Elder Gene Harry spoke to the spirit of the occasion, "As soon as the name of these beautiful grounds was brought back, the ancestors came down upon us [in the rain]. As soon as it landed, they stopped, they're here."

Following the historic ceremony, roughly 400 people gathered for a community introduction to Setting Sun Circle. The event featured a pop-up Indigenous Art Market with more than 20 vendors, songs and dances from Black Lodge Singers and West Shore Canoe Family, and remarks from community leaders. Later in the evening, community members joined us for a tour of Setting Sun Circle's future home for Indigenous storytelling and innovation currently under construction on West Holly Street in Bellingham's Downtown Arts District. ⁠The celebration of Indigenous culture continued through the weekend with a Spring Powwow hosted at Northwest Indian College.

Hy’shqe to everyone who joined us for a rainy, cleansing and momentous weekend of community and culture! We hope you caught a glimpse of the energy we’re endeavoring to bring to our future home downtown. ⁠If you’re new to our work and are receiving this e-newsletter for the first time, welcome. We are grateful to have you with us on this journey. 

We raise our hands to the Indigenous artists who joined us to share their gifts and to our powerful event speakers – Gene Harry, Lummi Nation Chairman Anthony Hillaire, Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund, North Sound ACH CEO Liz Baxter, Washington Conservation Action CEO Alyssa Macy and Setting Sun Circle Executive Director Darrell Hillaire.⁠

Thanks also to our new neighbors in the downtown Bellingham food scene who partnered with us to feed the people: Soy House, Cheba Hut, La Fiamma Pizza, Fiamma Burger, Black Sheep, Goat Mountain Pizza Co., Brandywine Kitchen and Bellingham Cider Company.

Breaking Down Barriers, Building Bridges

Renovations of Setting Sun Circle’s future home in downtown Bellingham took a major step forward in recent weeks as the talented crew at Dawson Construction opened the brick wall dividing the two large first-floor spaces that once comprised Mindport Exhibits. This was no easy feat in a century-old building with unreinforced masonry. Ongoing efforts include reinforcing steel beams and completing extensive structural improvements. The payoff, though, will be a unified space for our future home, with a theater that can accommodate both smaller immersive experiences and large gatherings and events that help build bridges in our community and beyond.

Learn more about the experiences and programming we’re planning for Setting Sun Circle when it opens in 2027, and find out how you can help bring this vision to life in the heart of downtown Bellingham.

Where We’ll Be

Seven Sisters – Return of the Matriarchy

June 27 at 6-8 pm | St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, WA

Setting Sun Circle is proud to support Se'Si'Le in the multi-event Seven Sisters campaign, which empowers and elevates the leadership of Indigenous women whose work confronts the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss, climate disruption and environmental injustice. By centering Indigenous knowledge, relational responsibility and long-term stewardship, the campaign mobilizes communities toward collective action, ecological restoration and a renewed commitment to caring for future generations. Visit the campaign website for the full event slate and catch this upcoming event!

Nature of WritingSummer Speakers Series

Setting Sun Circle is partnering with North Cascades Institute and Village Books for a special Nature of Writing summer series featuring two books that highlight the role of Indigenous knowledge and leadership in protecting and restoring Mother Earth. Join us at one or both events.

“The Earth Said Remember Me” by Jason Dove Mark

July 16 at 6 pm | Village Books, Fairhaven

RSVP for this gathering for an exciting new book featuring interviews with Lummi Nation Tribal Members – including some of our Setting Sun Circle team – and more!

“Guardians of Life: Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Science, and Restoring the Planet” Photography by Kiliii Yüyan

July 18 | Bellingham, WA

Setting Sun Circle team member Free Borsey will join a panel discussion with National Geographic Explorer and photographer Kiliii Yüyan. Save the date on your calendars, more details coming soon!

Seeds of Change

Young & Indigenous Podcast Returns with a Familiar Guest

Setting Sun Circle’s Young & Indigenous podcast is back with a new podcast series exploring what Land Back can look like in practice while challenging the lack of cultural awareness surrounding the history of Whatcom County. Through conversations with community members, we aim to share a fuller and more truthful understanding of this place and the Indigenous peoples who have called it home Since Time Immemorial.

In our new episode, Setting Sun Circle Researcher and Podcast Producer Santana Rabang speaks with Executive Director Darrell Hillaire about what it means to return to an ancestral village site with deep family ties, the organization's vision for the future, and how reclaiming space can help build stronger communities and a more equitable future. Listen now on our website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

What is Darrell Reading?

Executive Director Darrell Hillaire is known as a prolific reader. We’re often asked, “What is Darrell reading right now?” We’re excited to start offering a sneak peek into his library in our monthly newsletter.

Darrell is currently reading “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution" by Jill Lepore. He's currently watching "Respect the Rez: Inside the Lummi Blackhawks’ Title-or-Bust Season” – a four-part, 40-minute documentary by Cascadia Daily News that Setting Sun Circle is proud to support!