Local artist who went blind at 55 gives free lectures on resilience

In the coming weeks, artist John Halliday will give free lectures on Native American history and resilience in Walla Walla, Longview and Tacoma.

Halliday is an enrolled member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. He is also a descendant of the Duwamish, Klickitat and Wasco peoples. In August 2020 he served as deputy regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs when he returned to Tacoma to have a tonsillectomy.

“I had an allergic reaction to prescribed medication,” Halliday said. “And I died.”

His wife performed CPR on him, as did medical professionals at his home, in the ambulance and at the hospital. He was in a coma for six days.

Halliday woke up in another world – a world he couldn’t see. As a result, he lost his job and much of his sense of masculinity.

“I was used to putting meat on the table; I was used to supporting the family as a hunter and fisherman,” he said. “I didn’t want my kids to see me sitting around feeling sorry for myself.”

So Halliday began to think about what other directions his life could take.

“What has God left me?” asked Halliday. “He left me with the ability to speak. And crazy enough – work of art. Even if I can’t see it clearly, I know what shapes I’m making and I’m able to create an image in my head and put it on the canvas.”

Halliday, whose father ran the Sacred Circle Gallery in Seattle, has since exhibited his artwork at several locations in the Northwest. His art is tactile, with clouds of bathroom caulk, waves cemented in drops of glue, and killer whale skin textured with seed beads and sand.

In addition to his art, Halliday gives public speaking engagements. His upcoming lecture, titled “What is a Chief?”, is based on his life experiences and, in particular, dreams he had while in a coma.

“I was brought back to bring you the message that we can all be chiefs in our own way,” Halliday said. “By the mother taking care of the daughter, the father taking care of the son, and a friend helping a friend.”

Halliday hopes his story of resilience can be an inspiration to others. “If you’re disabled or knocked down, you don’t have to think it’s a life sentence, you don’t have to take ‘no’ for an answer,” he said. “If you can’t do things, you can find a way.”

Halliday will speak at Walla Walla’s Gesa Power House Theater Oct. 23the Longview Public Library November 6th and the Parkland/Spanaway Branch of the Pierce County Library System November 10th.