Smoke Signals
10
Beading bottles: Carrying on a family tradition
By Linda Murphy
My name Linda Murphy. I'm a
nurse and a mother of five. My hus
band and I currently live in Sequim,
WA., on the Olympic Peninsula. We
have lived throughout the United
States including: California, Oregon,
Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, and
New Hampshire.
My parents are Wilbur and Sally
Haller. My paternal grandmother
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Linda, picking blackberries during
the A-KA-Lat Celebration near La
Push, Washington.
was tribal Elder Adeline Haller.
I was introduced to beading as a
child receiving my first loom, at the
age of nine, as a gift from my
mother.
As a young adult, my uncle Don
Haller taught me the traditional art
form of beading bottles. He taught
a lot of young people in my family,
and ignited a spark in us about our
culture and traditions. He should be
credited with influencing us to con
tinue the.beading tradition.
Don is a master beader, having cre
ated many exceptional well designed
bottles. Unfortunately only a couple
examples still remain in the family.
I adhere to the basic principles he
taught me, such as using only bottles
100 years old or older and always
leaving an error in the pattern. (This
was traditionally thought to allow the
spirit to escape)
Although I knew several tribal
members who beaded bottles 25
years ago, the only other people who
I'm aware of who bead bottles at this
time are my cousins, Loretta Knight
and Laura Gleason. They are both
talented. Loretta has studied several
different beading techniques and
makes a variety of beaded items. It
would be nice to hear from anyone
who does practice this art form.
I have studied elements of Native
astal design with Quillute Artisan,
Phil Ward Jr., and although I have
taken art courses in high school and
college over the years, I have only
pursued art as a personal outlet of
expression.
The particular style I have devel
oped incorporates elements of design
common to several traditional Native
American bead patterns along with
the realistic depiction of some objects
in nature.
Each of my bottles bares my sig
nature in the form of a six-bead cross.
My smaller bottles have one cross
either hidden in the pattern or the
neck of the bottle. The larger bottles
always have two crosses beaded mid
way down the sides of the bottle, and
positioned on opposite sides. This is
symbolic of my personal acknowledg
ment that God is the author of my
talent and that my ability is a gift
by him.
The traditional craft of "Bottle
Beading" originated at about the
time of the great Western Migration.
Settlers discarded their empty bottles
as they traveled westward. The In
digenous People collected bottles,
using them to store water, dried
meat and grains. The bottles, being
fragile, were covered wit leather and
eventually decorated with beads.
These bottles later became a popu
lar trade item.
The Royal British Columbia Mu
seum in Victoria, Canada currently
has several beaded glass items in-
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One of Linda's exquisite bottle
designs. Photos courtesy of Linda Murphy
eluding beaded bottles in its exhibit,
"Out of the Mist, The Treasures of the
Nuu-chah-nulth Chiefs." This exhibit
can be seen until April 5, 2000.
Linda's beaded bottle work can cur
rently be seen in the display window
at the Governance Center.
Can you help jdentify these kids?
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1
This photo of a Grand Ronde School class is on loan to the Tribe from Charlene Freeman. We are trying to identify the kids in this photo, and have
been able to estimate that this is a first grade class. We believe the year is about 1945. If you think you can name any students in the photo,
please call Justin Phillips at (503) 879-2190 or 1-800-422-0232, ext. 2190.