Peter Fisher Presents:

A Call to Action: The Preservation of Madrona Point

Saturday, June 7; 2pm – 3:30pm
No admission charge
Donations appreciated

Join Peter Fisher, President of the Orcas Historical Museum, for a presentation regarding the preservation of Madrona Point.

From Peter:

“In 1984, Madrona Point on Orcas Island, a peninsula that was once a burial site for the Lummi Nation, was slated for development into a residential enclave. After reading the news, I went with my camera to begin documenting this prominent and scenic place, endowed with significant local history and fragile ecology, before its impending demise.

Sometimes I experience a feeling of direct connection to the world by sensing an energy that flows freely between myself and the environment. My heart was wrenched with sadness at the idea of this special place being converted into a dense condo and housing project. At the same time I experienced strong feelings of empathy for this endangered, natural landscape.

With my inner ear, I heard the land speak, “If I go, you go; we all go. This sacred site is the Omphalos of Orcas, the geographic and historic heart of the island.” The proposed development would harm our essential cultural connections to the past and desecrate the native and white burial grounds stolen from the cemetery association and sold to a private party in 1890 by Reverend Gray and his cohorts.

“Orcas Island, without Madrona Point being preserved, will have lost its most valuable spiritual, aesthetic, cultural, and natural feature.”

To create awareness and interest among islanders for the effort to buy Madrona Point, we organized an exhibition at Orcas Center in 1986.  Over 20 local artists participated. I made a handmade book, Madrona Point, 1985. It featured Cibachrome prints, cattail-leaf handmade paper, letterpress-printed calligraphy, and madrona-burl-veneer covers. My artistic goal was to create the visual equivalent of a walk around the point. A limited edition of seven books and one proof copy were made and sold for $2500 each between 1985 and 1990. Art in the service of spirit!

In 1989, after years of building a region-wide coalition, we negotiated a $2.2 million appropriation from the U.S. Congress to purchase Madrona Point for preservation. On February 17th, 1990, a historic gathering was held at the Oddfellows Hall on Madrona Point to celebrate the transfer of the deed to the Lummi Nation.

The experience of combining my artistic vision, interest in building healthy community, and love of nature, to help preserve sacred land was gratifying. What explains why people care so deeply for special places? A lesson I learned is not to underestimate the potential for artistic expression—be it music, theater, painting—to touch people’s hearts and transform community.”