Totem brings messages of climate change for COP26

In preparation for the start of the United Nations 26th climate change conference, COP26 on Sunday 31 October, a giant totem bringing messages from Mexico about global warming has landed in Glasgow’s The Hidden Gardens, thanks to a collaboration with The Open University.

Travelling by ship to the UK, the 4.5m high wooden structure has stopped at important cultural hubs on its journey to Glasgow, including London, Coventry, Manchester and home of The Open University's central campus, Milton Keynes. 

Called TOTEM LATAMAT, the colourful artwork was carved from a single tree during a ceremony to thank it for giving its life. The head of a man and the wings of an eagle are sculpted into the cedar wood, imprinting a message that will stretch 9000km from Mexico to London.

Carved by Indigenous Totonac artist Jun Tiburcio, the totem is expressive of Totonac spiritual ideas about the environment, with ‘Latamat’ meaning ‘life’ in Tutunakú. It emphasises how deeply our existence is interwoven with nature, calling attention to the damage being done to the sea, land and air, and insists that we cannot ignore the destruction any longer. 

Professor of Religious Studies at The Open University (OU), Graham Harvey, worked with colleagues at Border Crossings to bring the totem to the UK for COP26. It is designed to engage the public and politicians with messages from the Indigenous people of its home nation.

Prof Harvey said:
“TOTEM LATAMAT brings a message from Indigenous people to COP26 – and to everyone who encounters it – that celebrating and living responsibly among Earth’s life is the best reason for urgent action in the face of climate change. 

“The experience and resilience of Indigenous peoples and cultures is worth listening to because while they comprise less than 5% of the world’s population, indigenous people protect 80% of our global biodiversity.”  

Prof Harvey explained the particular significance of the hummingbirds at the top of the totem, saying these small birds are understood to be messengers who make us responsible for acting on the news or facts we hear or witness. 

Discussing the links to his academic study, Prof Harvey adds:

“My research focuses on the ways in which Indigenous people use traditional ceremonies and narratives to address urgent contemporary issues. Most pressing among these is climate change.

“Long-term celebration of human kinship with the larger-than-human community, sometimes called “nature”, is the foundation of the ceremonies and stories that encourage respectful relationships. I’m interested in cultural festivals as well as political activism in which Indigenous people seek to convey a message of the need to respect life rather than irresponsibly consume everything.”

The creator of TOTEM LATAMAT, Jun Tiburcio, lives in a village and region which suffered major damage in a recent hurricane made more ferocious by climate change.

“The message of the totem is therefore not about a future threat but about the present experience of anthropogenic climate disaster. This makes his message “celebrate and live responsibly among all life” eloquent and powerful.” said Prof Harvey.

See the Totem:
TOTEM LATAMAT can be seen at The Hidden Gardens in Glasgow until Sunday 14 November, before it travels to its final resting place where it can be visited at The Crichton Trust in Dumfries. The Crichton is an institutional campus with The Open University as one of its university partners.

On the afternoon of Thursday 11 November, join us at an event in-person at The Hidden Gardens to hear from the totem’s artist, Jun Tiburcio. Prof Graham Harvey and the OU’s Professor of Climate Change and Energy, Stephen Peake, will be joined by representatives from Friends of the Earth for a panel discussion about the meaning of the totem’s journey to COP26. 

On the evening of Friday 19 November, join us at an event via livestream or at The Crichton, to reflect on the totem's journey. As well as hearing from the artist, Jun Tiburcio, a panel of representatives from Border Crossings, the OU, Indigenous Perspectives and mother of the Onondaga clan, Frieda J. Jacques, will discuss whether the climate summit has been a ‘success’.

Find out more:
Learn more about TOTEM LATAMAT on the OU’s free learning site, OpenLearn and catch up with its journey so far.

TOTEM LATAMAT is commissioned by Border Crossings’ ORIGINS Festival, co-presented by Centro de las Artes Indígenas with the support of The Open University and the Embassy of Mexico.

Original article drafted by Christine Drabwell, Media Relations Manager at The Open University.