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Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
August 1, 2018
Plateau dress making artist in residency with Evergreen State
T his summer Roberta Kirk
led a four-day Plateau dress
making workshop at the Mu-
seum at Warm Springs.
Linley Logan, of the Ev-
ergreen State College
Longhouse Northwest Heri-
tage Program, organized the
workshop.
Ms. Logan works with
tribal communities to de-
velop artist in residence pro-
grams focused on cultural
arts.
Ms. Kirk, who friends
know as ‘Birda,’ and Linley
are both alumni of the Insti-
tute of American Indian
Arts.
Some time ago, Linley no-
ticed that Roberta posted to
her Facebook page her dress
making updates, when
Roberta made a dress for
her Simnasho Longhouse
community feast events.
Linley asked Roberta if
she would consider leading a
Plateau dress making work-
shop in Warm Springs, and
Birda enthusiastically agreed.
The Museum at War m
Springs graciously offered to
host the group for which the
Longhouse is deeply grateful.
This Plateau dress making
artist in residency received a
great response. The program
hosted 18 participants repre-
senting multiple generations
and many inter family groups.
Courtesy Linley Logan/Evergreen College
Roberta Kirk demonstrates the Plateau dress making technique.
The youngest participant,
Virgilena Walsey-Begay, is 10
years old. She worked on her
dress with her mother Cece
Walsey-Begay and Virgilena’s
sister in-law, Courtney
Fasthorse.
Virgilena danced in her
dress at the Simnasho Hot
Summer Nite Powwow three
days after completing it.
The dress making space
at the Museum at Warm
Springs was at capacity, with
folks spreading their dress
material out on the board
room table and the floor in
the hallway.
The workshop ended up
with a wait-list of 20 people
who interested in a future
Plateau dress making artist
in residency.
Roberta has great respect
for all tribes and ways of cul-
tural artistic expression.
“I was taught our cultural
value, that when you are go-
ing into ceremony or you will
stand before the Creator,
you must present yourself
in your best traditional at-
tire,” Birda says.
The Plateau dress mak-
ing artist in residency proved
to be a very powerful arts
in action connector for com-
munity members.
A number of the partici-
pants were making their
dresses for family naming
ceremony purposes.
Many of the residency
participants had great things
to say about their experi-
ences. One artist said:
“This artist in residency
is a blessing of wonderful
days filled with laughter and
love.”
Another artist noted: “It
was so beautiful to see the
dresses come alive. Truly,
each dress has the spirit of
its maker in it.”
Yet another artist noted,
“Everyday held prayers,
laughter, sharing and cul-
tural creativity.” An elder
participant commented:
“It was a thrill to see the
young one sewing her shells
on her own dress. I am in-
spired.” Another participant
shared:
“The artist in residency
was a beautiful four days
with family, friends and new
friends.”
And one said: “When I
completed the last stitches in
my dress, I cried. I mourn
65 years ago at KNT
Courtesy Richard Macy
Picture taken in 1953 shows the Village pool, featured on a post card from that year.
Around Indian Country
Developments with cannabis, online gaming
The state of Wisconsin
is promising not to interfere
with the St. Croix Chippewa
Indians as the tribe moves
forward with a hemp and
cannabidiol, or business.
A consent decree en-
tered in federal court con-
firms that the state lacks
jurisdiction on the reserva-
tion. The agreement comes
just a few months after the
tribe filed a lawsuit to pro-
tect its sovereignty.
“The tribe commends
the state Attorney General
for working with our com-
munity to resolve any con-
fusion over the tribe’s inher-
ent sovereign authority to
adopt and implement its
hemp and CBD control pro-
gram,” said council member
Elmer J. Emery.
The tribe developed a
comprehensive set of regu-
lations to govern hemp and
CBD production last fall.
The announcement drew
objections from the state
even though industrial
hemp and CBD oil are legal
under Wisconsin law, as the
consent decree notes. Else-
where:
Internet betting
The Muckleshoot Tribe
will be launching a system
that will allow gamblers to
place real-money bets over
the internet through a mobile
app.
The app, set to debut this
fall, will feature Class II
games like bingo and pull tabs.
While bets can be placed
from anywhere, a player must
be at the Muckleshoot Ca-
sino in Washington state to
buy games and to collect win-
nings.
The tribe will be the first
to explore this market.
CRITFC recruiting specialized library leader
The Columbia River In-
ter-Tribal Fish Commission
is recruiting for a
StreamNet Library project
leader and librarian.
The position closes on
September 7, with a starting
salary of $72,148 (equiva-
lent to GS 12 with excellent
benefits.
The project leader-librar-
ian will manage and guide the
StreamNet Library, a small
specialized collection that
provides access to data and
literature on the Columbia
River Basin fish, fisheries,
and fisheries research.
Please see the complete
application and job descrip-
tion at the following website:
www.critfc.org/blog/jobs/
streamnet-library-project-
leader-librarian/
no more, my life has come
together as well as our fami-
lies. I am so proud to be re-
leased and lifted by my
friends through making this
dress in this artist in resi-
dency.
“Thank you to the orga-
nizers and leader of this art-
ist in residency for provid-
ing a means of healing for
me.”
A healing song was
shared by another partici-
pant for the healing tears
that day.
Community members
stopped in to visit the artist
in residency throughout the
four days.
One community member
shared her visit comment
via a social media post in
which she wrote, “Lots of
positive energy. You have
done a wonderful thing to
host this workshop for our
people.”
Another community
member who didn’t attend
the artist in residency re-
sponded to the public posts:
“The support for our rega-
lia making gives us a better
outlook on our traditional
ways, that they will never
die, that traditions hold
strong, and it lets us walk
as our elders did with pride
to be Indigenous. Thank
you for helping to keep this
practice alive and well.”
The participants in the Pla-
teau dress making artist in
residence discussed the idea
of organizing a Plateau dress
fashion show with their
dresses at a future Museum
at Warm Springs event.
The Evergreen Longhouse
through the Northwest Heri-
tage Program is excited and
very proud to be able to part-
ner with Museum at Warm
Springs to develop and host
such incredible culturally
powerful and healing com-
munity based artist in resi-
dencies in native community.
We are thankful to every-
one who makes these artist
in residencies possible. Our
thanks acknowledge the Mar-
garet A. Cargill Philanthropies
for making our artist in resi-
dencies work possible
through the Northwest Heri-
tage Program at the
Longhouse Education and
Cultural Center, The Ever-
green State College, Olympia,
WA.
Migwech, Gunalcheesh,
Nia:weh, We are Thankful.
Thank you to Linley B.
Logan, of Northwest Heritage
Program Longhouse Education
& Cultural Center at Ever-
green State College, for this ar-
ticle.