Undammed Exhibit celebrates dam removal
The Goudi’ni Native American Arts Gallery at Cal Poly Humboldt opened a new exhibit last month centered around the historic removal of the Klamath River dams. A variety of Indigenous artists contributed to the exhibit, which ran from April 3 to May 17.
The Klamath dam removal movement has been ongoing for decades, resulting in four dams being removed along the river. This resulted in the first salmon migration to the upper Klamath basin in a century during the 2024 season.
Brittany Britton, the gallery director, expressed what motivated the project.
“With protests and the activism that went into calling for the dam removal, visual art and creation has always been at the center of it.” Britton added, “We wanted to be able to tell the story visually of how the dams have impacted the communities locally.”
The project was a combined effort from the gallery, the Native American Studies department, the museum gallery practices class at CPH, and the artists themselves. The artists with work on display include Annelia Hilman, Bob Benson, Lyn Risling, Julian Lang, Jackie Fawn, Jaimoe Kibby and more.
“This exhibit is important because it serves both as an educational resource and a space for celebration. It honors the decades-long fight to protect the river, victory of dams coming down, and invites reflection on the future of the water and the life it sustains,” said Mila Sayers, an intern for the Native American Studies department that worked on the project.
“Being a good community member on Native land requires staying informed about the ongoing struggles Tribes face, and this exhibit beautifully showcases the far reaching impacts the dams have had on so many lives,” Sayers said.
One of the final events of the exhibit is a curator tour on Saturday, May 10. The gallery is also open Tuesday through Saturday for public viewing, and is located on the first floor of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building on campus.
Gallery is closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Open:
Wednesday and Tuesday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Friday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Saturday 11 a.m–2 p.m
