Page 6 - Chehalis Tribal Newsletter - June, 2018

6

HERITAGE/CULTURE

Woven into history Conference encourages

upholding tradition

Hundreds of cedar weavers of all skill levels A participant of
attended the Hazel Pete Basket Weaving the Hazel Pete
Conference on May 12 at Great Wolf Lodge in Basket Weaving
Grand Mound. Conference views
The conference showcases traditional native a woven shrimp
artistry, connects participants to other weavers basket. Speakers
and also is an institute for learning. It’s open to Dale Croes and Ed
anyone interested in the traditional practices Carriere shared
and ways of native people. their knowledge
Those new to weaving learned from master about recent Native
weavers who regularly attend the Hazel Pete American basketry
conference. Longtime organizers and teachers discoveries.
of the program are Trudy Marcellay, Yvonne Contributed by
Peterson and Gail White Eagle, all of whom Ed Croes
were in attendance this year.
One of the main purposes of the event is to
encourage the tradition to be carried on for
generations to come.
Native Americans from every region
sustained a livelihood with natural, local
resources for thousands of years. Each region
was different and depended on what was
readily available.
The Salish people of North America in the
Pacific Northwest and British Columbia have a
deep history in weaving cedar bark and sweet
grass. Archeologists continue to dig up and
uncover ancient Native American artifacts,
learning more about how resourceful and
complex natives were during those times.
Some of the ancient artifacts unearthed
during the past few decades have inspired
a lot of interest, and not just in the native
community.
Dale Croes, who has a PhD in archeology,
and Ed Carriere, Suquamish Tribal Elder and
Master Basket Weaver, were invited to the
conference as keynote speakers. They discussed
their work spreading knowledge about recent
discoveries of Native American basketry.
In collaboration with Dale, Ed is diligently
replicating baskets that date back thousands
of years. The two worked together on “Re-
Awakening Ancient Salish Sea Basketry - Fifty
Years of Basketry Studies in Culture and
Science.” Their book describes basket weaving
as a “synergy” between culture and science.
They have been invited around the world to
share their experiences and replicated baskets.
Dale views basketry as part of the native people’s
identity. He pointed to popularity of the Hazel
Pete conference and the hundreds of Native
Americans that attend the event. He said he
doesn’t think natives would have such a rooted
interest unless it was part of their identity.
“Identity is critical for perpetuation of
culture,” Dale explained.