ROGER FERNANDES, NATIVE AMERICAN ARTIST AND STORYTELLER TO VISIT VASHON ISLAND JAN. 24

photo courtesy of Roger Fernandes and VMIHA

Roger Fernandes, or Kawasa, as his fellow members of the Lower Elwha Band of S'Klallam Indians near Port Angeles call him, has strong feelings about how stories should be shared. This tribal historian, artist, and teacher specializing in Coast Salish art, does not believe stories should be trapped inside books.

"The true power of storytelling comes when the moisture of the teller's breath gives life and power to the story," Fernandes says.

Prepare to experience the power for yourself. 

Fernandes will visit Vashon Island on Saturday evening, January 24, to share stories in the way he believes is best, as he presents a special program called "Teachings of the First People." This FREE public event takes place at 6:30 p.m. at the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust building at 10014 SW Bank Road, and will include legends, myths, creation stories, and flood stories meant to bring a sense of Northwest Native American culture to the children and adults who attend and help them understand it better. 

This evening of storytelling is offered in conjunction with the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association's museum exhibit called "Vashon Island's Native People: Navigating Seas of Change," and is sponsored by VMIHA, Humanities Washington and others*. The museum exhibit runs through March 15, 2015, at 10105 SW Bank Road, in the heart of the town of Vashon, but the story telling event takes place only on January 24 at the Land Trust building. 

A trip to the island and an evening of storytelling would be a nice way to spend some quality time with your family and a learning experience that will enrich your own life. To get a taste of the talents of Roger Fernandes, listen to a few tales here. To see some of his artwork, please click here. And for your convenience, here is the ferry schedule.

For more information~

Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association

10105 Bank Road SW

PO Box 723

Vashon Island, Washington 98070
206-463-7808
admin@vashonheritage.org

Additional sponsors are:

4Culture

Puget Sound Energy

DIG

Beth de Groen

Rick's Diagnostic & Repair Service

The Hardware Store Restaurant

John L. Scott Real Estate

Northwest School of Animal Massage

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"THE LOOM LADY" WANTS CHILDREN TO BENEFIT FROM THE ANCIENT ART OF WEAVING, WITH YOUR HELP

Years ago, when fiber artist Elsa Bouman first began teaching her many skills in summer camps, community centers, and schools, she probably never imagined she would one day be called “The Loom Lady.”  It is, however, a perfect nickname for this woman who lives in Lake Forest Park, north of Seattle, Washington, and is often seen weaving on the shore of Lake Washington. She passionately wants to share the joys of this ancient skill with as many people as she can, especially children. After discovering the perfect small Ashford loom, Bouman knew that she must somehow obtain at least ten of them. Unfortunately, they cost $135.00 each. She needed, and still needs, help to see this dream come true. 

If you are impatiently eager to help you can do so right here, right now, but please read on to understand why this matters so much.

Bouman’s passion to teach weaving comes from her awareness that in today’s high-tech world, kids spend too much time with electronics and not enough using their hands in creativity. They also experience stress, sometimes equal to that of adults. Nothing soothes stress like handling fibers and producing items both useful and beautiful. She wants to reconnect them with the kind of handwork skills that have been used by mankind for tens of thousands of years.  

The video below, in which Renate Hiller discussed the importance of handwork to humanity, says it all.

“When using the loom—rolling it forward and creating this fabric and adding any colors they want—they are in the zone,” Bouman said. “It makes me so happy to see their faces. They just cluster around.” 

Ironically, the computer programming that now occupies so much of society's attention, has ties to the early punch cards used for weaving, as explained in this video.

 

In addition to teaching adults, Bouman especially wants to reach children between eight and twelve years old, those in the third through sixth grades. With these small, portable looms, too small to intimidate, a six-inch-wide scarf can be woven in about five hours. Judging by the response she has already had, Bouman believes some of these children will advance to larger looms and make some fabulous things, connecting with an ancient and universal experience of creativity and reward as they do.

“I have not have one kid who didn’t want to do this,” she went on. “They get engaged in this process of going back and forth and seeing a pattern emerge, seeing the colors change. They are so smitten and focused.” 

Bouman knew nothing about how to obtain a grant, so she turned to the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council for help. Now the arts council has involved other organization, and an anonymous sponsor is willing to match every dollar raised with one of their own. 

“I am writing to share an exciting opportunity,” she stated in an email to friends and family. “The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council, power2give/PugetSound, presented by ArtsFund, and 4Culture have put together a grant to support the fiber arts.” 

Good Life Northwest, believing in this worthy cause, would like to extend her invitation to everyone. Here is the link where you can contribute:

power2give.org/The Loom Lady

As The Loom Lady, Bouman will receive a one-year residency, enabling her to bring what she calls “the joy and art of weaving” to her local community. The grant, if the drive for donations succeeds, will provide the ten looms she first dreamed of acquiring, as well as materials and funds for other expenses. She can hardly wait to see those expressions of delight, self-confidence, and satisfaction on the faces of even more children. 

“I want this, but I don’t want it for me,” Bouman said. “I want it for them.”

I hope the Loom Lady gets her wish. She's doing what we should all be doing—making the world a better place in our own small way.

Here Elsa Bouman's husband, the acclaimed jazz pianist Ray Skjelbred, tries his hand at weaving. 

Best wishes for a happy new year, from Good Life Northwest. Please "like" this blog on Facebook and help share news of good things. Thank you! 

MUSEUM EXHIBIT ON VASHON ISLAND REVEALS ITS FIRST NATIVE INHABITANTS

Artwork by Shaun Peterson

I am proud that my ancestors were among the earliest pioneers to settle on Vashon Island in Puget Sound, literally camping under a gigantic fallen tree until they could build a house, but now I'm reassessing the significance of their bold adventure in light of a new exhibit at the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association's Museum. The truth is, other people's ancestors precede mine by thousands of years. Yes, thousands. I grew up on the island as the fifth generation of my family there and am learning from this exhibit, called "Vashon Island's Native People: Navigating Seas of Change," running now through March 15, 2015. The co-curators are Laurie Tucker and Rayna Holtz.

Although my relatives were among the first Caucasians to establish themselves on Vashon, a group of Native Americans called the "sxwobabc"—meaning "swift water people," part of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians—had already been on the island for so long that my family's presence occurred in what is the equivalent of the last few seconds on the time continuum of human habitation in that place of shadowy forests, meadows, and driftwood strew beaches. In their carved cedar canoes, they glided over the waters between their own villages and others in nearby places that would come to be called Gig Harbor and Commencement Bay. You can read more about the sxwobabc people Vashon History.

Ghosts must walk the beach on Quartermaster Harbor. In the same place where my ancestors first stepped ashore in 1880, the original inhabitants once lived in thriving villages and built a longhouse. During my childhood, I knew some Native Americans had lived on the island, and a few still did, blending into the background of our small town society, but I had no concept of the extent or significance of the native settlements there. 

Lucy Gerand digging clams in Quartermaster Harbor — photo courtesy of VMIHA

A baby girl born in that longhouse on Quartermaster Harbor, in 1843, grew up to be Lucy Slagham Gerand. So what happened her and to the other native residents of Vashon Island who preceded her? By the time my relatives arrived, rather late in the era of western expansion, the inevitable clash of vastly different cultures had already taken its toll on the native people. Diseases to which they had no resistance ravaged the population, and the rapid pace of white settlement saw them displaced and sent to live on reservations, all within the short span of one generation. 

As a nine-year-old, Lucy went to the mainland with her parents to witness the signing of a misleading treaty in 1854. It manipulated the Puyallup Tribe into giving up valuable land and set in motion a future that would bring a century or more of prejudice, discrimination, and hardship before they would thrive again.  Eventually, as a grown woman, she moved back to Vashon with her husband, John Slagham. The pioneers all knew and remembered her well, which means my own family members did too. In 1918, she told an anthropologist the names the sxwobabc gave to places on the island, and later, in 1927, in a U.S. Court of Claims, she further described the island villages she remembered from her childhood and provided more details of daily life. If not for this one person, we would all have remained ignorant, as ignorant as even the island's first white historian apparently was.

I grew up in an era where ideas of our country's history were still influenced by the concept of Manifest Destiny. It is chilling to go even farther back in time and look at evidence of prevailing attitudes in the past. A book published in 1935 titled "History of Vashon-Maury Islands," by O.S. Van Olinda includes the following incorrect and particularly disturbing statements: 

"The first residents of the island were, of course, Indians, but they cannot by any stretch of the imagination be called 'settlers,' because they did not settle. They wandered about from place to place, living where the living was easiest, on the game, fish, clams and wild berries and roots. They did no farming and tended no flocks. The did nothing to better their own condition. The Puget Sound Indian, in fact, is classed, even by other Indian tribes, as the about the lowest form of human existence." 

In other words, a society living simply and in harmony with nature—in a place that happened to offer a mild climate and so much natural abundance—was scorned by many of the white newcomers, even though that culture was actually ancient and complex, richly spiritual, and infused everyday life and everyday objects with art. It was seen as somehow lazy and suspect to have a culture not built on the aggressive struggle required of the pioneers. The exploitation of resources and dominance over the land and every living thing on it were seen by them as both rights and virtues, all part of a completely different way of viewing the relationship of humans to their environment. 

My ancestors were good people, and I am proud of their boldness, vision, hard work, and the community they helped to build. They did not personally displace the native population, and I know enough about them to know they would have treated all people kindly. Yet, as one who has always considered myself a "native" of the island, even though I don't live there now, I want to pay homage to the true natives whose lives were so harshly impacted by the earlier invasion of people who looked a lot like me. Although Native Americans still face challenges, the Puyallup Tribe is now prospering. You can learn more about their culture and that of Vashon's first residents through this outstanding exhibit. 

The museum is easy to find. From ferry terminals on either the north or south ends of the island, just take the main road to the one blinking traffic light in the village of Vashon and turn west onto Bank Road SW. On the next block, on the south side of the street, you'll see a little yellow former church building with the number 10105, at and that's it. If you want a map and better directions, click here.

The museum has also scheduled a presentation on September 13, 2014 by notable Native American artist and recognized expert on South Coast Salish Design Shaun Peterson, whose native name is Qwalsius. Thanks to a grant from 4-Culture, the VMIHA commission him to create the sculpture seen on the poster above, made of red and yellow cedar, steel, and glass, celebrating the ties between the Puyallup Tribe and Vashon Island. According to co-curator Laurie Tucker, "He'll be speaking about the differences between southern and northern Coast Salish art, and about Puyallup Tribe culture. He'll show photos of his work, which includes many public installations."

Shaun Peterson with his son Kai, with sculpture, on opening night — photo courtesy of VMIHA

Laurie also had this to say about the exhibit: "Scott Jones and Yvonne Lever have worked in museums for many years in various capacities, and we were very fortunate to have their help with the design and installation. We also met monthly with Brandon Reynon, who is an archaeologist with the Puyallup Tribe's Historic Preservation Department. He did a lot to guide our storyline, provided photos from the Tribe's collections, made corrections and answered our many questions with grace and patience. 

Sandra Noel did graphic design work, producing a wonderful 'Seasonal Round' wheel with her drawings illustrating the seasonal activities of native people, before contact with Europeans. My sister, Lissa Mayer, spent three very long days helping with the installation. Many others helped with construction, painting the gallery, building display furniture, proof-reading, opening night festivities, publicity....so much help!

Our husbands and children also helped a lot, both with support during all of the hard work and time spent planning, and with actual work during the gallery preparation and installation of the exhibit."

Her co-curator, Rayna Holtz, added: "Brandon Reynon's assistant, Nicole Barandon, has been especially warm and helpful to us in planning and publicizing the Karen Reed weaving program.  And we deeply appreciate the response of Teresa Harvey, a teacher at Chief Leschi School, who answered our invitation to celebrate the exhibit opening weekend by bringing a troupe of Chief Leschi Song and Dance students, who performed traditional dances on the grass by the Vashon Library and then toured the exhibit."

All contacts with members of the Puyallup Tribe have helped us shape this exhibit to tell the stories of their ancestors more accurately and respectfully."

After so many people have worked so hard to bring us this wonderful exhibit, wouldn't you like to see it? Of course you would. Here is all you need:

Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association

10105 Bank Road SW

PO Box 723

Vashon Island, Washington 98070
206-463-7808
admin@vashonheritage.org

The Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association thanks the sponsors who have made this exhibit possible, including 4Culture, Puget Sound Energy, DIG, Beth de Groen, Rick’s Diagnostic & Repair Service, The Hardware Store, John L. Scott Real Estate, and the Northwest School of Animal Massage. The exhibit will close March 15, 2015. For more information, go to www.vashonheritage.org .

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Fyddeye- a new maritime history community

Joe Follansbee has done it again. His knack for being the right guy with the right idea at the right time means good things happen that wouldn't otherwise. He just started an exciting new web community called Fyddeye to connect people who care about maritime history, on the local level and around the world. Now I want to help him spread the news.

If you're a regular reader you might remember me writing about this busy freelance journalist, webmaster, and author last April in a blog post called Time, Connections, and a Guy Named Joe . Even if you just discovered Good Life Northwest you might know Joe because of his involvement with 4Culture , the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, the Maritime Heritage Network, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Community, his numerous articles in Seattle area magazines, and his book, "Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona."

You won't find "fyddeye" in the dictionary. On the site, Joe says its source was a word that refers to a sail-making tool and the human eye. That's logical, since he always keeps an eye on what's happening in the world of maritime history and preservation efforts. And it's a good thing, because treasures from the past can disappear in the time it takes to blink, if nobody cares. If you didn't care before, you will after you become a fan of Fyddeye. It's a place for people Joe refers to as "maritime heritage advocates," lovers of historic ships and lighthouses, to read and contribute to news and information about preservation efforts, urgent needs, and successes.

It isn't all serious either. The tone is friendly and fun and I can see it becoming the web equivalent to places like the Point Defiance Boathouse here in Tacoma, where you see old friends hanging out with steaming cups of coffee, just catching up on the latest catch. Or maybe they just need to be around water and boats. Having grown up on an island, I know that homing instinct that makes me want to lean on a railing, smell salt air and hear the seagulls. And I care about old ships, like Puget Sound's "environmental ship," Adventuress, which I've written about many times.

So come aboard! Your friends at Fyddeye are waiting, just a click away. For now at least, you have to bring your own morning coffee. But you never know with Joe...




Copyright Candace Brown 20009

Time, Connections, and a Guy Named Joe

Time warped last Sunday, on Elliot Bay. It happened as I admired the view of Seattle's skyscrapers through the rigging of a 1913 schooner, and it made me ponder the nature of time and connection. Others aboard must have had those thoughts too. Like Joe Follansbee. We'd never met before but by strange coincidence both showed up for the public sail on the historic schooner ADVENTURESS, along with several people I know from Tacoma. It turned out he knew some of them too.

I was happy to see one of the teen-age girls from the Self & Sound program I've written about, with her family, and people associated with Tall Ships Tacoma. Somehow we had all ended up together on that gorgeous April day because of connection as strong and circuitous as a halyard around a sheave: our love of maritime history. That included the entire crew and Catherine Collins, Executive Director of Sound Experience, the not-for-profit organization that owns ADVENTURESS.

Everyone savored the afternoon, leaning against varnished surfaces that reflected the sun while holding its warmth. Enough of a breeze came up to arch out the yards of canvas and let us get a taste of what we'd come for: the timeless and organic triad of water, wind and wood. To the east the city spread out before us, so different now than the year ADVENTURESS was built. To the west the Olympic mountain range still white with snow, made a breathtaking border between blue water and blue sky. But of all the pleasures of the day, meeting Joe Follansbee and learning how deeply this man cares about Pacific Northwest maritime history, was one of the greatest. It seemed most fitting aboard a 96-year-old ship in the year 2009.

Joe Follansbee is a prolific writer and journalist with an impressive list of published articles in print and online, and four books to his name, including Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona. He was one of the people who tried to save WAWONA, and is one of many who now mourn the loss after her recent demolition at Lake Union Dry Dock. She’d been a celebrity since her beginnings in 1897: a three-masted beauty and the largest schooner ever built in America. On the deck of historic ADVENTURESS, wind in our faces, how could we not honor WAWONA’s memory and try to imagine her under sail?

Joe’s involvement with old ships goes beyond WAWONA. He’s project manager of the website Maritime Heritage Network, which is owned by 4Culture, King County's arts and heritage agency, and writes the MHN blog. He also serves as Director of Communications for the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, an educational organization that owns and operates two replica ships, the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain. He keeps busy on issues of local history. He's one of the people who cares. Without people like Joe I'd never have had the chance to see the current Seattle skyline and the rigging of the historic ship juxtaposed.


After three hours on the water ADVENTURESS tied up again at the Elliot Bay Marina and we all went our separate ways. I turned to take a look at her among the modern yachts, the past alongside the present. But what of the future?

I don't know when, if ever again, I'll end up in the same place and time as Joe Follansbee. But I'm glad I met him. From the perspective of a writer, I admire and respect his work. As a human being I am grateful to him and all the others like him who are dedicated to preserving our past. Maybe we'll never truly understand the concept of time, but luckily for us, Joe Follansbee is making the most of his.

Keeping You Posted - Good Gossip

Every March I wander around the yard looking for signs of life in the garden and think thoughts like, "Hmmm, I wonder what ever happened to those (fill in the blank) bulbs Dave planted." Then I realized some of you might also wonder "what ever happened" to the people or situations I've written about. Just for fun, I've decided to make this week's post as enlightening to my curious readers as the old "party line" was to telephone users, with all the latest gossip.

"rrrrrrrrrrring......."

"Hello?"

"Hi! It's me, Candace, from Good Life Northwest."

"Oh, hi! What's new?"

"Well, plenty, to tell the truth. Are you busy? I have n-e-w-s."

"Ooooooo. Really? Like what?"

"Well, for starters, I went to a pizza party last Saturday night down at the Working Waterfront Maritime Museum on Dock Street, here in Tacoma"

"No kidding. Who was there?"

"The teen-age girls who participated in the Self & Sound program last October, offered by Sound Experience through a grant from A.S.T.A. Remember that story? The girls left behind families, boyfriends, cell phones, text messaging, TV, hot showers and other things they thought they couldn't live without, to sail around Puget Sound for six days on the tall ship ADVENTURESS. You must have read my blog post called Discoveries in Unknown Waters." So they had a reunion and were there with their families, Catherine Collins, Executive Director of Sound Experience, staff member Elizabeth Becker, a few crew members from ADVENTURESS, people from Tall Ships Tacoma and the museum, and me. Then we had a surprise guest, Erma Lewis, President of Soroptimist International's Tacoma club, who showed up with a check for a generous contribution to Self & Sound."

"She did? Wow. What a good example. I know Soroptimist works to "improve the lives of women and girls." And by the way, how are those girls doing?"

"Great! It was good to see them again. Many hadn't been together since they sailed last October. They had a lot of fun catching up and watching a presentation of the photos Elizabeth Becker took aboard the ship that day. Self & Sound taught them all kinds of things, like self-confidence, leadership, cooperation, and more. It really impacted their lives. The only thing is... funding for Self & Sound for 2009 still isn't secured, so the program could be in jeopardy. Catherine Collins works hard toward getting grants and other financial help, but in this economy it's tough. She's hoping the public will care about this great program. Even just by becoming members people can help, and sail for free too. She even gave every one of the Self & Sound girls a free one year family membership for their families, each valued at $85.00, to get more people out there on Puget Sound, realizing how important this education is. Wasn't that nice?"

"You bet. Say, what ever happened with the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie? I remember reading about that in your post called 'Getting History Back on Track'. How are the repairs going after those devastating floods in January?"

"Funny you'd ask. I just heard that the great organization 4Culture is contributing $50,000 for needed repairs. If you click on that blog post you can read a press release about it at the end of the post, in the comments."

"Wow. That's a lot. I guess their troubles are over now."

"I'm afraid not. As wonderful and generous as that gift may be, the amount required to do the job is estimated to be $100,000, so they still have to raise the rest. The most urgent need is to get the tracks repaired before the tourist season. The revenue generated by those train rides is crucial to their budget. Donations are still appreciated."

"I see. Hey, I loved reading about the contra dance you went to in that story called "Joyride" in Tacoma. When's the next dance at Wells Hall? I might show up and give it a try."

"March 21st. This time the band is La Pointe du Jour (which means "the dawning of the day"). Great name, isn't it? The caller is Mike Richardson and the dance goes from 8:00-11:00 that evening, with free lessons beforehand, starting at 7:30. You can go to the website for Tacoma Contra Dance for all the details and directions."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. That's all good news, but there's some that's not so good. Just this morning I called Karen Barkley from Toy Rescue Mission. Remember when I wrote about how there mission could become "Mission Impossible" back in December? Well, things are pretty grim. Without more funding they might have to close in June 2009. Right now she's trying to set up a Read-a-Thon through the Pierce County school district, as a fund raiser. Tacoma Community College Students are working on this event as a project. You can email their instructor, Mary Fox at mfox@tacomacc.edu, for more information."

"Hmmmm. I hope that works out. Hey, how's your Dad doing? Is he still 'Raking in the Memories' these days?"

"Sure is. He's doing quite well and almost halfway to his ninety-sixth birthday, I'm happy to say."

"I've gotta run, but it's been fun catching up. Oh yeah, one more thing... are you REALLY going to quit buying plastic wrap, like you said you would in that "Wishing You a New Year With Less" post?"

"Well, to be honest I still have a teeny-tiny bit left on that last big roll from COSTCO, and remember, I said I wouldn't buy anymore after I used it up."

"You haven't really answered my question."

"Okay, okay already. I WILL QUIT BUYING PLASTIC WRAP IN 2009. Did you hear that Readers? Yeah you, the ones listening in on the line. I know you're there. Margo? Are you with me on this?"

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