Land Back Wall
The wall on the side of a building reads "Land Back" in bold red letters. It is surrounded by tags of other street artists who endorse the central phrase “Land Back”. The original advertising sign message “93.7 Country - Can I get a Hell Ya!” was left unaltered.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2022-08-09">2022-08-09</a>
LA
Photographer: Heather Shirey
The intersection of West Pender Street and Abbott Street in Vancouver, Canada
End Street Sweeps
A ripped poster on a wall portrays a female figure standing with her right fist raised in the air. She holds a sign that reads "End Street Sweeps!" Behind the female, are silhouettes of other figures. Some of the figures hold signs that read "Fuck the VPD" and "No Cops On Stolen Land."
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-08-09">2020-08-09</a>
LA
Photographer: Heather Shirey
Wanted For Home Invasion
"Wanted For Home Invasion" is written in bold on a poster above a bulldog and warthog. Both the bulldog and warthog are dressed in VPD attire and holding weapons (club and pitchfork). Underneath the animals, it reads "Cupe 1004 Engineering workers and VPD officers AKA street sweepers, have been witnessed terrorizing the residents of the downtown eastside by displacing their dwellings in the streets and destroying/stealing their property." The poster concludes with "Stop the Sweeps!" in bold.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
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LA
Contributor: Heather Shirey
Vancouver, Canada
Our Land Our Ancestors
"Our Land Our Ancestors" is spray-painted in black around the outline of a tipi on the side of a building.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2022-08-09">2022-08-09</a>
LA
Contributor: Heather Shirey
Vancouver, Canada
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Red Dress
Red dress wheat-pastings are on the side of a building. The red dress is a symbol of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2022-08-09">2022-08-09</a>
LA
Contributor: Heather Shirey
Vancouver, Canda
Land Back
"Land Back" is spray-painted in red on the side of a building. Above it, "Whos Land?" is spray-painted in white.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2022-08-11">2022-08-11</a>
LA
Contributor: Heather Shirey
Vancouver, Canada
Indigenous American Portrait
On a backdrop of white paint, a portrait of an Indigenous (Native) American man wearing full traditional dress. The portrait is completed in a stylized glitch, making it difficult to discern clear detail, but the man's feathered headdress, earrings, and necklaces are most visible. The portrait is done in white, red, and blue paint. Overlaid on the black background, a repetitive purple motif repeats. The artist's signature, "aware.", is included in a similar glitch style to the viewer's left of the portrait.
AWARE (@aware_indecline)
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-05-30">2020-05-30</a>
F.S.
Artist: AWARE (@aware_indecline)
Photographer: Impermanent Art (@impermanent_art)
Downtown Las Vegas, Las Vegas, United States
George Floyd Victims of Police Brutality
George Perry Floyd (October 14, 1973 - May 25, 2020) was a 46-year-old Black American man who was murdered by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin after Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s murder sparked an international movement for Black Lives Matter, the largest civil rights movement of the century. On March 12, 2021, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Floyd's family. On June 25, 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for his crimes.
Manuel “Mannie” Elijah Ellis (August 28, 1986 - March 3, 2020) was a 33-year-old Black American man from Tacoma, Washington who was killed by hypoxia through physical restraint by Tacoma Police Officers on March 3, 2020.
This is a large and complex mural that expresses solidarity between Black and Indigenous people in the face of racism and police violence. Set against a vibrant yellow background with an abstract landscape and geometric patterns, George Floyd's portrait appears with large text reading "George Floyd." The portrait of Floyd is given extra vibrancy by adding a twinkle to his eyes.
Additional references are made to others killed in acts of racially-motivated police brutality, such as John T. Williams, Jeanetta Riley, Sarah Lee Circle Bear, Daniel Covarrabius, Jackie Salyers. Manuel Ellis, Stonechild Chiefstick and Mantry Norris.
Below the George Floyd section is the word "Genocide." The left side of the mural references John T. Williams (Native American woodcarver murdered by the Seattle police in 2010) and includes large text reading "Human Rights" and a reference to BLM, along with a beautiful seascape. The right side of the composition includes potent symbols of Native identity, including petroglyphs, and fish. Sitting Bull, also killed in an act of violence that took many Native lives, is also depicted here.
Robert "Running Fisher" Upham (lead artist); Sacred Point of View
A note from the artist: "The way in which George Floyd was murdered stirred up some deep feelings, and I felt strongly that I needed to do something in response--my nephew, niece and other members of my family have died in needless and violent ways. This is, unfortunately, a common story in Indian country as well as in the Black community. These murals were my way of grieving. Many people contributed to the George Floyd mural. At last count, I figure at least 40 people did small and large contributions--from adding names of their relatives to bringing stencils." <br /><br />The work was removed and relocated on June 23, 2020. <br /><br />Additional information: <br /><br /><a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/black-lives-matter-murals?fbclid=IwA">Atlas Obscura</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF5_BCsv1wg">Video featuring the artist</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article243433186.html">News article about the work</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.sacredpointofview.com/gallery/">Sacred Point of View Gallery</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/features/native_american_police_killings_native_lives_matter.html%20">Reference article: Native Lives Matter</a><br /><br />This photograph, showing Robert "Running Fisher" Upham with his grandchildren, was submitted by the artist and is used here with permission from the family.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-06-03">2020-06-03</a>
HS
Robert "Running Fisher" Upham and Sacred Point of View
UAM-GF_0845
209 5th Ave. E. Olympia, WA, USA
Fred Hampton & John T. Williams mural
George Perry Floyd (October 14, 1973 - May 25, 2020) was a 46-year-old Black American man who was murdered by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin after Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s murder sparked an international movement for Black Lives Matter, the largest civil rights movement of the century. On March 12, 2021, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Floyd's family. On June 25, 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for his crimes.
A large mural focused on portraits of two men. On the left is John T. Williams, a seventh-generation Native woodcarver who was shot and killed by Seattle police on August 10, 2010. On the right is Black Panther activist Fred Hampton, who was murdered in a raid on December 4, 1969. The area between the two portraits contains blocks of text.
1. "Before the white man can relate to others he must forgot the pleasure of defining them. The white man must learn to stop viewing history as a plot against himself. Vine Deloria, Jr."
A reference to George Floyd was painted on an adjacent wall.
2. "We've got to face the fact that...we put out fire best with water. We say you don't fight racism with racism. We're gonna fight racism with solidarity. Fred Hampton, BPP"
Robert "Running Fisher" Upham (lead artist) with Sacred Point of View
Painted on the Harlequin Theate, this work was conceived as a sign of solidarity and a condemnation of police brutality in response to the murder of George Floyd. The artist stated: "The way in which George Floyd was murdered stirred up some deep feelings, and I felt strongly that I needed to do something in response--my nephew, niece and other members of my family have died in needless and violent ways. This is, unfortunately, a common story in Indian country as well as in the Black community. These murals were my way of grieving."
Will be relocated to: 418 Washington St SE, Olympia, WA 98501
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
Sacred Point of View and Robert "Running Fisher" Upham
http://www.sacredpointofview.com/gallery/
UAM-GF_0844
202 4th Ave. E. Olympia, WA, USA