Owed to The Mountain is a call to action. The US Forest Service (USFS) manages Mt. Hood National Forest as a timber production site rather than as a living ecosystem; its forest management plan has not been updated for 30 years. There is no mention of climate change, the role forests play in carbon sequestration, or how fire suppression has left our forests and their inhabitants vulnerable to catastrophic fires. Native people have known all along that fire is an integral part of an interrelated system of people, plants, animals, and the land..
Owed to The Mountain cultivates a powerful story that inspires knowing a place deeply, sharing Indigenous wisdom, and building a community that turns its love for a mountain into action. Mt. Hood has the 6th largest carbon stores of all National Forests in the country! By galvanizing a movement that advocates for the US Forest Service management plan to be updated, Mt Hood can be celebrated and treated as a living ecosystem and increase its climate resilience. Through this project’s research, interviews, and by spending time on the mountain, I understand how important it is that we protect clean drinking water, promote wildlife habitat restoration, support forest maturation, and prioritize the vision and cultural traditions of Native communities, including the practice of controlled burns. We owe it to the Mountain.
Owed to The Mountain takes three forms: an eight-copy limited edition (a collapsible box holding a three-dimensional paper mountain with a copy of the fine-press book beneath), the fine-press book (a 32 copy edition numbered 9 - 40), and a digital edition of 250 copies printed at Morel Ink in Portland, Oregon. This is the first time I have ever created a trade edition of one of my fine-press books. This book is accessible and allows for a greater number of people to experience the work. Every participant in the project received their own copy of the digital book. 2.5% of sale proceeds will be given each to CRÍID Foundation and to Bark to support their important work.
Owed to the Mountain was reviewed by Artists' Book Reviews (ABR).
