When Cyaltsa, a Lummi Native artist, sat down to design the new logo for Pacific Northwest Tribal Lending, she asked a simple but profound question: What does PNTL mean to the community? The answer revealed itself as a narrative of nurturing and growth—an extended hand that plants seeds for new beginnings and helps them flourish.

Starting with a brainstorming session, she clustered ideas into one-word inspirations: collaboration, growth, life. She worked closely with Loki Creative, turning these concepts into sketches, each more meaningful than the last. But it wasn’t just about visuals; it was personal. Cyaltsa reflected deeply, asking herself what this design meant from the heart.

Drawing from her own experiences, Cyaltsa imagined what it felt like to walk out of PNTL’s office: like stepping into sunshine. She recalled her grandmother’s voice as she greeted the dawn on Lummi shores, pulling back curtains to reveal Mt. Baker and whispering, “Good morning, sunshine.”

This memory shaped her initial designs, which featured Mt. Baker and even an eagle, symbols tied to her heritage. As the design evolved, the rays of the sun became bolder, more prominent—symbols of the light and energy PNTL brings to the community.

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Every element in the logo tells a story:

• The yellow oval represents seeds, symbolizing the beginnings of businesses and dreams.

• Arrowheads honor a long line of warriors, symbolizing strength and resilience.

• The whale tail in white signifies wisdom and connection to nature.

• Blue echoes growth, a continuous flow of progress.

• Red lines, stretching outward like arrows, signify growth and outward expansion.

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The center circle features mountain ridges highlighting “PNTL (Pacific Northwest Tribal Lending)” and Mt. Baker along with a silhouette of Mt. Rainier with the blue sky and endless waters that have been the center of coastal tribes since time immemorial.

The final design, understated yet powerful, incorporates subtle references to a river and a ridge—quiet nods to the land’s beauty and strength. It reflects PNTL’s role in fostering not just financial growth, but the holistic well-being of its community.​

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For Cy, this project was more than a commission—it was a calling. “I felt honored, excited, and humbled,” she admits, recalling the pressure of such an important task. But through collaboration and feedback, she crafted a design that embodies the spirit of PNTL: a beacon of hope, a new day, a circle of life.

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Cyaltsa (sigh-alt-suh) April Finkbonner is a multimedia artist, journeyman ironworker and welder at the Naval shipyard, and member of the Lummi Nation. She studied multimedia at the Art Institute of Seattle. She has owned Creative Cuzzin since 2010, where she creates cultural, spiritual, oceanic, earth-loving art and design. She’s designed t-shirts, gifts, and prints that she sells through her website, creativecuzzin.com. Take a peek at her projects!

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Cyaltsa often combines the fire sign of Leo, her astrological sign, with her love of art to create commissioned works. She works in pen, colored pencils, acrylic paint and enjoys photography, video and the native art of weaving cedar hats and baskets that she learned from Unko Chief, the late T’silixw, Bill James. 

In 2023, Cyaltsa collaborated with master carver Jewell James to create a metal sculpture from his vision. The resulting creation “All Our Relations” traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest to reconnect and support treaty rights in the Columbia River Basin and the health of the Salish Sea.

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Cyaltsa serves on the board of Se’Si’Le, an Indigenous nonprofit organization, and is the Vice-President of the Sacred Lands Conservancy.