Seattle: Hidden Histoires, 1991-1995
Martha Rosler wrote about this work: ‘The city of Seattle is not much more than 125 years old. It was named after a prominent chief of the Duwamish tribe, which was dispossessed along with other local tribes in the settlement of the town. In 1991, I conducted video interviews with some native American residents of Seattle on questions of history and heritage.’ From the recorded interviews, Rosler produced one-minute Public Service Announcements, or PSAs, under the auspices of the Seattle Arts Commission. Four years later, the artist selected eleven of these announcements for her video Seattle: Hidden Histories. These were the subjects and testimonies she selected:
1. Chief Seattle (Vi Hilbert, Lushootseed linguist; storyteller; Upper Skagit elder)
2. The Duwamish (Cecile Maxwell, Head of Duwamish Tribal Council)
3. Duwamish – Fort Dent (Al Rasmussen, member of Duwamish Tribal Council)
4. Urban Indians – latte (Roger Fernandes, Alcohol and Drug Prevention Coordinator, Seattle Indian Health Board; Lower Elwha Clallam)
5. Lady Louse (V. Hilbert)
6. Schooling (Winifred Bracero, Thompson tribal elder, Leschi House, Seattle)
7. Sleeping languages – Lushootseed (V. Hilbert)
8. Urban Indians – postcards (R. Fernandes)
9. Religion (V. Hilbert)
10. Drug programme for kids (R. Fernandes)
11. Big Rock-Skagit origins story (V. Hilbert)
Technical details
- Original title:
- Seattle: Hidden Histoires
- Registration number:
- 3240
- Artist:
- Rosler, Martha
- Date created:
- 1991-1995
- Date acquired:
- 2008
- Fonds:
- MACBA Collection. Barcelona City Council long-term
- Object type:
- Audiovisual recording
- Media:
- Single-channel video, color, sound, 13 min
- Credits:
- MACBA Collection. Barcelona City Council long-term loan
- Copyright:
- © Martha Rosler
- It has accessibility resources:
- No
The MACBA Collection features Catalan, Spanish and international art and, although it includes works from the 1920s onwards, its primary focus is on the period between the 1960s and the present.
For more information on the work or the artist, please consult MACBA's Library. To request a loan of the work, please write to colleccio [at] macba.cat.
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