I often listen to podcasts or books while I am weaving. Tonight, as I finished-up my very last braid on my Chilkat Face, the speaker who came on happened to be an Inuit elder. As I was bringing my weaving to a close, he started speaking about circles and journeys. He said that in the Western world we see a path as being a linear line from point A to point B. In the native world, it’s still point A to point B, but now it’s circular and then the circle repeats. Life and seasons teach us that. One of the things that he was pointing out was that one isn’t more right than the other. They are different from each other, and we should learn to appreciate those differences. A message of beauty, love, acceptance, and growth. I couldn’t have planned a more beautiful way to end this weaving. I felt the love of my family and all of us who have been walking this journey.
Cara’s and my circle weavings. The two far left are our first ones (both of mine are light blue). We both received our first commissions and those are the two right weavings.
For our Chilkat Faces Marsha let us use her design as a template but said to feel free and make changes in areas that we may want to change. One thing that she really wanted us to weave were the split-u’s. I remember looking and without thought called them ears. Marsha without skipping a beat and with her steady patience, gentleness, and quietness said, “Spit-u’s.” I knew I wasn’t to call them ears again and I am thankful for her guidance in that. I had no idea at the time just how challenging those split-u’s would be!
Split-U’s and Eyebrows
We dyed the beautiful greenish weft months ago at the ANS Hall in Klukwan. That was a very special day that felt ripe with hope, it was Cara’s first weekend home.
Creating my first Chilkat Face has made me look inward quite a bit. I think every piece has something to say, we just have to find what that is. What will come to my mind years from now when I look at it and remember? Will my children have it after I am gone? Will it be passed-on in my family or sold or lost?
One thing I knew was that I wanted the eyes to be wide-open, without a hint of looking to the right or left, without a hint of squinting, or averting it’s gaze. I wanted it to remind me to always be courageous enough to look at our past with eyes wide open; to see the wisdom and humility of our ancestors and elders; to not turn my eyes from the attempted genocide of the people across this land; and to look in the eyes of my brothers and sisters of today. We are still here.
I have spent a lot of time reading speeches made by Great-Grandma, Jennie Thlunaut, these past several months. Her love of weaving and gratefulness for others wanting to learn is apparent. She attributed her success as a skilled weaver to her Creator and said often to remember Him. I wanted my piece to also be a reminder to me of that. That when my time comes, as all those before me, I will be able to see Him face-to-face and know that I walked in who He created me to be. There is so much beauty in each of us.
This apprenticeship has meant so much to Cara and me. Gunalcheesh Marsha Hotch for your outpouring of wisdom and knowledge that you so willingly gave. Your words are tucked into my heart and I hope to always walk respectfully and honorably, and still remember to have fun. For all those at the Chilkoot Indian Association, Harriet Brouillette, Helen Alten, Cindy Price-Hagwood, and too many others to list, thank you. You were instrumental and so supportive in seeing this come to fruition. We are thankful and don’t take what was planted in us lightly.
Here we are now, in the dark days of winter. A time where the earth rests and gains strength, a time where we all push ourselves sometimes to the ends of ourselves to make it through these months, and I remember my first post back at the beginning. May I have ears to hear and eyes to see what is being said. I am so thankful. Gunalcheesh!
The back at one point.
This transparency helped me as did weaving markers with small bits of weft tied onto warps.
