Check out the full article here and visit the Smithsonian online, or one of its 19 “Seriously Amazing” museums.

 

 

 

And speaking of the National Museum of the American Indian, on January 13, the Museum dedicated a dramatic new totem pole – 22 feet long, carved from an ancient cedar tree weighing 2,500 pounds.The pole’s design depicts an Indian fable about an eagle, and was carved and painted by master Tsimshian craftsmen, David A. Boxley and his son, David R. Boxley. As described by Michael Ruane in the Washington Post, the carvings tell the story of “…the eagle, who was saved by the young Indian; the chief whose village was, in turn, saved by the eagle; and the people, who were spared by the cycle of good deeds.”

 

For more on this beautiful work of art, click here.

 

 

Of course, as the presidential election year heats up, we expect the League of Women Voters to be in the thick of things. This year is no exception, as the League is again sounding the alarm about plans to disenfranchise voters in many states. For a comprehensive understanding of this issue, we recommend LWV president Elisabeth MacNamara’s piece available here.

 

MacNamara describes ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, as “…a factory for anti-voter legislation, funded by power barons like Kraft Foods, McDonald’s, Pfizer and the Koch brothers.” She continues, “They are the driving force behind the recent flood of discriminatory voter ID laws, like the one in Texas, where a state-issued concealed handgun permit is an acceptable form of identification…but a state-issued student ID from a university is not.” MacNamara then dispels the many myths surrounding the need for these types of voter suppression tactics, and how the League is fighting them in states across America.

 

 

And staying on the subject of troubling legislation, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) wrote a compelling piece for the Huffington Post about a chilling bill that passed the House of Representatives last year.

As Lautenberg and McCarthy describe it, “The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 822) would allow gun owners to carry a concealed firearm across state lines even if they weren't issued a permit by that state. That means Texas Governor Rick Perry could decide who can carry a concealed weapon in your state – even if they have a criminal record that your state would consider a barrier to owning a gun.” Lautenberg and McCarthy ask that everyone “…join us today in urging President Obama to issue a veto threat and go on record immediately against this dangerous bill.” To read the full article, including the consequences of such a risky law, click here.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts, an Avalon client since 2004, is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. The museum is the only in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists. If you live in the area, don’t miss what they have planned for this special year!  Watch a video interview about their 25th Anniversary here.

And finally, from the Washington Post, we just heard the terrific news that Avalon client, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia ranked THIRD in the world among  outdoor amphitheaters in terms of ticket buyers, according to rankings put together by Pollstar, a concert trade publication — 345,578 people attended a show at Wolf Trap in 2011. If you’re in the DC area in the future, there’s nothing like a performance at Wolf Trap!