By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
Patience and perseverance were evident and witnessed throughout the duration of the second annual Winter Weavers Event on Dec. 14 at Winner’s Gymnasium in Tacoma. The Puyallup Tribe’s Culture Department and Heritage Division proudly hosted the gathering, which included Tribal Members as well as teachers and visitors from other Tribes throughout Washington.
As the morning crept into the early afternoon, every 10-15 minutes seemingly saw another weaver complete their project they began at 10 a.m. The pure joy on the faces of those individuals drew cheers from the crowd as many attendees proudly held up their creation for the masses to see. It wasn’t uncommon to see grandparents weaving alongside their grandchildren throughout the day. Teachers taught various forms of weaving including beaded lanyards, beargrass earrings, cedar rattles, X baskets, wápaas bags, cedar baskets and cedar ornaments.
Marsha Pluff, a Youth Coordinator in the Puyallup Tribe’s Culture Department, organized the event for the second year in a row.
“Traditionally with the Coast Salish people, usually we spend this time in the winter making mats, making regalia and weaving a lot of our winter wear. We’re bringing back the ceremony of weaving,” Pluff said with a smile.
The teachers in attendance were a combination of Puyallup Tribal Members and those visiting from the Chehalis Tribe and Makah Tribe.
“They’re all teaching different techniques of weaving. This is what we wanted to bring to the table. We just want to teach our people, and this is the best way to be able to bring in those different techniques by having a one-day event,” Pluff said.
Pluff credited Heritage Division Manager Connie McCloud for being the first person to come up with the idea of hosting a Winter Weavers extravaganza a few years ago. McCloud, who attended this year’s event, gave a blessing and prayer before the lunch hour at around noon.
“Connie came to us and gave us the idea that she wanted to have a weavers event – something that was similar to what the Native American Weaving Association does,” Pluff said. “We just started looking and decided we wanted to bring in different people (teachers) every year with all different types of techniques, too.”
Puyallup Tribe Culture Director Angie Totus was thrilled with the number of Puyallup Tribal Members and individuals from other Tribes throughout Washington that were in attendance to share in the joy of the event.
“The gathering of the communities, our Tribal Members and teaching our traditions – it is just so beautiful to see all these people here that are willing to learn and want to learn from our master teachers. It’s really wonderful,” Totus said. “As different Tribes throughout the Northwest, we all have similarities and it’s always good to bring in these other Tribes so we can all work together up and down the coast.”
The Winter Weavers gathering wasn’t the only event taking place in the gymnasium. The Tacoma Tree Foundation provided 80 free two-gallon Western cedar trees to individuals in attendance. The trees, which have the ability grow to up to 70 feet tall and live up to 1,000 years, were located in the left corner of Winner’s Gymnasium throughout the day. Heritage Division Department Project Manager Dayleann Hawks was glad the Sustainability, Heritage and FIFA project provided a cedar face steam station and was available to answer any and every question about its benefits.
“This event is about cedar. Grandmother Cedar is one of our oldest living entities that the creator blessed us with. She provides us with so much. To honor her in this way, we’ve harvested cedar, we’re making all of these creations that were taught to us and she brought to us for our clothing, our gathering and also for replanting,” Hawks said.
Sustainability and preserving the future means absolutely everything to the Tribe.
“We’re replanting trees so we can sustain this way of teaching our culture. It’s beautiful that people are coming to learn and having that hands-on (experience) because it’s not only part of our culture, it’s part of our healing process,” Hawks explained. “Cedar is spiritual. It provides us with the medicine that we need, the medicine that was taken away by the genocide. We’re bringing it back and look how much its growing over the years.”
Puyallup Tribal Member Peggy McCloud gave the opening prayer and blessing to kick off the festivities at around 10 a.m. McCloud echoed Hawks’ sentiment wholeheartedly about the importance of cedar.
“In the morning prayer I had shared that we’re getting more of our people, our Elders and our children, their hands on the cedar. Our Elders always said just to put your hands on the cedar and then your spirit will just grow. It gave them strength, it gave them happiness. That is what we want,” McCloud said. “That is something that wasn’t available to me as a child. I’m 70 now. Any time we can give back and get our children, Elders and everybody together, we just become connected with our ancestors and connected together. It’s beautiful.”
