CSSP Celebrates 10 Years
This September, we are honored to be celebrating Children of the Setting Sun’s 10th Anniversary! We offer deep gratitude and respect to everyone who has guided, supported, and joined in our work. While it’s impossible to neatly summarize a decade’s worth of creative projects, collaborations and gatherings, we felt it was only fitting to mark this milestone with a video of reflections and highlights. Please watch, enjoy, share, and know that you’ve played an important part in our journey. Our hands go up to you.
A corner view rendering of CSSP’s future home, The Setting Sun Circle.
Our Next Chapter: Setting Sun Circle
Our 10th anniversary marks an occasion to not only look back and give thanks for what we've accomplished together, but also to step boldly forward into our next chapter. We are already underway in renovating our newly gifted space on West Holly Street in downtown Bellingham. Once completed, the building will reopen as Setting Sun Circle, a space for sharing Indigenous values with the world. In addition to serving as the future home of Children of the Setting Sun, the Circle will offer: an immersive theater, a contemporary gallery, educational and maker spaces, and an open air healing garden where we can learn and grow together.
Stay tuned for future e-newsletters for updates on Setting Sun Circle, as well as upcoming events and opportunities to continue walking alongside us in our work to create, share, and educate.
Bringing a Downtown Bellingham Alley to Life with a New Mural
While the interior of Setting Sun Circle is under renovation, we're already hard at work breathing new life into the building's exterior. Coast Salish artists and CSSP team members Free Borsey, Raven Borsey and Roy Nichol are currently painting part of a major public art installation—the Coast Salish Interactive Living Mural—on the southeast alley wall.
This mural will honor the nearby historic Lummi Village site along Whatcom Creek, and serve as the first phase in a broader initiative to revitalize downtown Bellingham through Indigenous art and storytelling. Once complete, the mural will be brought to life at night using high-resolution projection mapping. This project is made possible with support from the City of Bellingham and Bellingham Tourism Commission.
Where We’ll Be
Book Event | Ramona Bennett Bill - Fighting for the Puyallup Tribe: A Memoir
Tuesday, Sept. 30 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm PDT
Setting Sun Circle | 210 W. Holly St, Bellingham
Join Children of the Setting Sun, Village Books and The University of Washington Press at Setting Sun Circle to welcome Ramona Bennett Bill for a compelling on-the-ground account of Native activism in the Northwest. Register today!
Collaborative Action Network Learning Session: Climate Action for Vulnerable Communities
Wed. Sept. 17 | 10 am - noon PDT
Virtual | Zoom
North Sound ACH's Collaborative Action Network is hosting a powerful live webinar bringing together leaders in climate justice, including CSSP team members Santana Rabang and Free Borsey, to explore how to build resilience, equity, and real solutions for communities on the frontlines of climate change. Register now!
Seeds of Change
Opportunities to learn and grow together for another decade!
Whether you’ve supported Children of the Setting Sun since its inception, or you just learned about us this past week, you are a critical part of our work to share Indigenous stories, teachings and perspectives that inspire change. In celebration of our 10th year, we invite you to share your story of how CSSP projects have inspired or otherwise impacted you. Leave a comment on our social media channels with your story!
Support the Amplification of Native Voices
Children of the Setting Sun is a 501 (c)3 non-profit that relies on the graciousness of others. If you feel inspired, make a tax deductible donation today. Hy'shqe \o/