Totem Latamat: Carving a Message for Climate

In the Autumn of 2021 the Totonac people sent a powerful message to World Leaders gathered at COP26. That message was TOTEM LATAMAT.

This ORIGINS film captures TOTEM LATAMAT's incredible 9,000km journey from a Mexican forest to the Indigenous Elders' COP26 camp in Glasgow, and its eventual return to the Earth in Dumfries.

Commissioned by Border Crossings' ORIGINS Festival and carved by Indigenous Totonac artist Jun Tiburcio, TOTEM LATAMAT encapsulated Indigenous spirituality and environmentalism. It emphasised how deeply our existence is interwoven with nature, calling attention to the damage being done to the seas, the land and the air, insisting that we cannot ignore the destruction of the planet any longer.

TOTEM LATAMAT travelled to the UK by ship and visited important cultural hubs across the country, including London, Coventry, Milton Keynes and Manchester. This film highlights its impact on those who encountered it, drawing powerful links between Indigenous experience and local heritage.

This is a free online film screening: register via Eventbrite to receive the online viewing link. This online premiere will have a special introduction by our Patron, Peter Sellars.

Border Crossings’ ORIGINS Festival has been celebrating the world’s Indigenous cultures in the UK since 2009. ORIGINS creates a unique opportunity for British audiences to engage with Indigenous artists and activists at the cutting edge of cultural resistance, environmentalism and spiritual tradition. www.originsfestival.com