Join us for a very special edition of the Nature of Writing Series, partnered with Setting Sun Circle and the North Cascades Institute! Renowned photographer, Kiliii Yüyan, will be discussing his new book, Guardians of Life, with a round table of community members, moderated by author, Jason Dove Mark! This special event will be held at Western Washington University's brand-new Lhaq ’temish-ew’xw ets’e Xwlemi’ - House of Healing, a Coast Salish-style longhouse on WWU's Campus!

As the biodiversity and climate crises converge, the time to support Indigenous leadership is now. This rich, in-depth, storytelling initiative is based on growing global recognition of the critical role Indigenous peoples play in sustaining biological and cultural diversity, as well as adapting to and abating climate change. 

Based on the work of award-winning National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yüyan, this book takes readers on a transformative journey to places and people living in relationship with their ancestral homelands. Vivid portraits of Indigenous men and women, youth and elders, hunters and farmers, spiritual leaders and craftsmen will reveal their ways of knowing and taking care of the land.

These are concepts and skills that have been taught for generations and are based on a foundational veneration for life — which is at the heart of caring for a living planet. Guardians of Life upholds the inherent sovereign rights of Indigenous peoples to care for their ancestral lands and waters, and seeks to build a movement that would broadly benefit and sustain life on planet Earth for all.