Migration Stage + Habitat Beach
The Grief Rituals Migration Procession comes to an end at Habitat Beach—199 Alaskan Way/dᶻidᶻəlalič—adjacent to the Seattle Ferry Terminal and facing Migration Stage, an installation created by artist Buster Simpson.
In Lushootseed, Dzidilalich means “crossing-over place.” Dzidzilalich is the name South Salish tribes called the estuary and beach that was the waterfront before white settlement of Seattle.
This dance-film in process is a collaboration between Little Brown Language and filmmaker Luke Wigren, filmed at Habitat Beach as part of the series [Re]Imagining City & Sound, commissioned by Black Collectivity in partnership with Friends of the Waterfront.
Artist Buster Simpson created Migration Stage in response to anticipated loss. Installed following the building of Habitat Beach and the rebuilding of the Alaskan Way Seawall, the mobile sculptures are inspired by Duwamish tools and pay respect to Native peoples who first canoed the Salish Sea. Their utilitarian design is meant for improvised social interaction and may be moved by future generations responding to changing environmental, social and political climates.