WHAT:
Holding the Moment: A New Speakers Series
Featuring:
- John Halliday presenting, “What is a Chief? How Native Values Teach Resilience”
WHERE:
Rainier Arts Center
3515 South Alaska St
Seattle, WA 98118
WHEN:
Saturday, October 4, 2025
at 7:30pm
TICKETS:
In-Person
FREE ($15 suggested donation)
Limited Seats—RSVP in advance to guarantee seat
On-Site Box Office: Opens one hour before curtain
Live-Streaming
FREE ($15 suggested donation)
Info & Tickets: mirrorstage.org/events/past-productions/holding-the-moment-Oct-4-2025
ABOUT JOHN HALLIDAY
John Halliday (he/him) is a legally blind Native American artist of Muckleshoot, “Duwamish,” Yakama, and Warm Springs Indian descent. Halliday recently retired from the Bureau of Indian Affairs as Deputy Regional Director for the Navajo Region after serving as CEO for both the Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie tribes. Halliday has shown his art at Lakewold Gardens, ANT Gallery, and the Sacred Circle Galleries of American Indian Art under the artist name “Coyote”. Halliday lives in Steilacoom.
At the age of 55, John Halliday became legally blind. As a Muckleshoot Tribal member of Duwamish ancestry, Halliday says his Native American world view, cultural traditions, and values, which have sustained Native tribes throughout history, long before colonization, have helped him overcome the challenges associated with losing his sight.
Too often, our understanding of American history begins with foreign European powers “settling” the land—as though no thriving human communities existed here. Woven in with John’s personal story, audiences will learn Washington State history from a Native American perspective, and how that history can teach resilience.
ABOUT HOLDING THE MOMENT
Holding the Moment is a new speakers series featuring artists, educators, journalists, and activists from Humanities Washington’s Speakers Bureau whose interactive presentations explore identity, memory, politics, and art—connecting personal truth to collective liberation. From confronting anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric to exposing cultural appropriation and reclaiming erased histories, each presentation invites us to resist oppression and build belonging. Free and open to all ages, each 90-minute event includes time for Q&A.
About Humanities Washington
Humanities Washington is a nonprofit organization dedicated to opening minds and bridging divides by creating spaces to explore different perspectives. For more about Humanities Washington, visit www.humanities.org.
About the Speakers Bureau Program
In communities throughout Washington State, Speakers Bureau presenters give free public presentations on history, politics, music, philosophy, spiritual traditions, and everything in between.
Their roster of over 30 Speakers Bureau presenters is made up of professors, artists, activists, historians, performers, journalists, and others—all chosen not only for their expertise, but also for their ability to inspire discussion with people of all ages and backgrounds. Hundreds of Speakers Bureau events take place each year. Find a Speakers Bureau event near you.
To reach as many Washingtonians as possible, Humanities Washington partners with a wide range of organizations, including libraries, schools, museums, historical societies, community centers, and civic organizations. Qualifying nonprofit organizations are encouraged to host a speaker.
The Speakers Bureau program is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Washington via the Office of the Secretary of State, the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University, and generous contributions from other businesses, foundations, and individuals.
About Mirror Stage
Originally founded in 1991, Mirror Stage is a nonprofit multidisciplinary arts company that believes the power of story and art holds the key to bringing people together in imagining and embodying a better future. We challenge assumptions, bias and prejudice, increasing equity and inclusion while encouraging more thoughtful reflection on today’s issues. Mirror Stage nurtures unique artistic voices, centering those who have been most oppressed by society’s inequitable systems and structures. Mirror Stage gets people talking, as well as thinking. Learn more about the history of Mirror Stage.
Mirror Stage gratefully acknowledges the support of 4Culture, ArtsWA, the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, the EPS Fund, Humanities Washington, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Paul G. Allen Foundation, and the Posner-Wallace Foundation.
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