There's something inherently funny about this picture by Steven Miller and Adrain Chesser. Obviously, it's the fact that it's a stereotype (foggy, soggy Pacific Northwest) within a stereotype (gay costume bear replete with furry penis).

But the solemn way he's perched on the stump in the middle of the devastated clear-cut forest is matched by the seriousness of the historical reference: a "welcome figure" is a traditional carving created by the Salish-speaking native people of this land. (Salish do not, contrary to popular belief, create totem poles.*)

If the land has already been raped, what is the point of a welcome sign? If the welcome sign is held by a marginalized figure, what are the possibilities for this place?

On the other hand, this is the opposite of a fake picture designed to attract tourists. (Seattle made its name in the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by mass-circulating postcards with a totem pole on them—it was known as the totem pole city.) This photograph is so harshly beautiful that those who respond to the invitation might be the ones to make a better future. It is a picture designed to attract (and to create) future natives.

^{*Here is a video of a prominent welcome figure dedicated in downtown Tacoma in 2010, by Puyallup artist Sean Peterson. Jump to 2:13 to see the sculpture itself.}