Sharing Traditions: Interviews from the 2013 Weavers Teaching Weavers

 

Last month, I was invited to attend and observe at the 2013 Weavers Teaching Weavers conference. There is something very special about Native American textile and basket weavers.  It was apparent at every turn when I walked into the longhouse at Northwest Indian College on the Lummi Reservation the week before last.   I especially love weavers because they are usually brilliant of mind, have a great sense of humor, and are meticulous when it comes to their work. It is fun to see how they break down the wefts and the warps for their eager pupils, some of whom are accomplished weavers in their own right.  

Puyallup textile weaver Misty Kalama at her loom
at 2013 Weavers Teaching Weavers
(Photo: Paul Niemi)

 

Weavers also have beautiful hearts.   Husband and wife textile weaving team of Misty Kalama of Puyallup and her husband Kendall Archer of Skokomish (the nephew of famed weaver Bruce Miller) have a gentleness and eagerness to teach people the art of Coast Salish weaving.   Over the two days, they taught people how to weave traditional regalia in smaller form to fit dolls.  Their students? Six year-olds to elders.  The adults were rewarded by feeling the satisfaction of completing a challenge and tapping into the spirituality that one feels during the weaving process  The youngsters...well, they received dolls upon finishing their pieces.  There is a fine line between getting kids to take on the past and moving traditions forward.  It is necessary to meet them half-way with toys.  After all, they have yet to arrive at a mature moment in time when they understand the importance of weaving traditions like a master does.

 

Puyallup weaver Sharon Reed shows
off one of her creations-in-progress
(Photo: Paul Niemi)

In the basket making realm of the Weavers Teaching Weavers conference, you never know who you are going to see.   This year was like the "Hollywood" of basket weaving...at least for me.  I saw old friends, made new ones and came away with a better understanding of how they learned their art (which isn't an art at all, but a way of life!) and the time involved to bring such beautiful pieces to market.

(L to R) Haida basket weavers Diane Douglas-Willard,
Dolly Garza, and Lisa Telford with Paul Niemi
(Photo: Copyright 2013 Uncle Paulie's World)

 

This video features conversations with master weavers such as Lisa Telford (Haida), Bill James (Lummi), and Karen Reed (Puyallup) with wonderful photos of others.  Get to know the teachers of the 2013 Weavers Teaching Weavers HERE:

Thrift Store Art Finds: Authenticating Cryptic Northwest Coast Basketry

It's no big secret that I love Native American art. Throughout the last fews years, my interests have shifted from jewelry, to pottery, to paintings, and now my passion is basketry.  While purchasing historic and contemporary Native American basketry can be very expensive,  there are terrific pieces just waiting to be found in your local thrift store.  Since I seem to be a magnet for excellent thrift store finds, I have decided to periodically blog about them and share the information that I learn from the experts!

In the last few months, I have been a frequenter of thrift stores along the I-5 corridor in Washington State.  A couple of weeks ago, I was in a store in the Skagit Valley.  There amidst baskets of all types were three terrific baskets (one, which I think might be Cherokee, but goes unauthenticated as of yet, one from South America, or so I believe from the design and the materials employed, and one from the Northwest Coast).  When I first set eyes on the pictured basket, the plaiting and the twining on the piece led me to think that its origin was Makah.  The material appeared to be bear grass combined with cedar, which looked faded in color.

After forwarding photographs to a curator in British Columbia, I was able to learn that it is indeed Northwest Coast.  To her, it appears to be woven from bear grass and some kind of raffia--not cedar.  She also said that the base suggested Salish basketry, but that the plaiting (the square center weave as seen in the images) and twining (the weaving surrounding the plaiting) on the base led her to believe it was Makah style.  While the basket seemed somewhat hard to place, she said that it was likely made by either a Makah or a Quileute weaver.  My guess is that it could be early to mid-20th Century, but that goes uncorraborated. Regardless, it is a beautiful, compelling and decorative basket!

Did you know that both the Burke Museum in Seattle and the University of British Columbia have ethnology collections available for online viewing?  You can search by style of basket, tribe and other criteria and can enlarge photos to help you see crucial details. Check them out!