Here it is finally, full-on Spring where I live. The birds are singing and chattering, zipping by me as I wander through the garden. Thoughts of last Spring come around again and I remember being invited into the home of Betty and Duane Pasco. Betty is in her 80’s, Duane in his 90’s. They are both excellent storytellers because they have memories that include intricate details of people, places and events. I met Duane in the late 1980’s when he was hired by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe to run a carving program in their new Canoe Shed. The classes were created to advance carving skills among the community, and non-native folks like myself were also welcomed. I signed up and did my best, learning to make my own carving tools from Loren White, and then learning to carve Bent-wood Boxes with Duane. Ed Carriere and I took many of these workshops together. I remember my sons who were 9 and 6 at the time, being on the beach, watching, as our carved cedar boards were pulled out of the steaming hot pit dug into the sand, filled with hot rocks, seaweed, and sword ferns. Each student, with bated breath, carefully bent their boards into the box forms we had spent many weeks carving with anticipation. It was a life-changing experience for me, and I love seeing how both sons have grown up to be extraordinary wood workers, maybe because of that day on the beach.
I met Betty Pasco in a Shredded Bark Apron workshop held at the Canoe Shed in the early 1990’s. She was making a big transition in her life at the time. I was just beginning to broaden my understanding of what a healing gift it is being able to work with Cedar. Whether carving, or weaving, or pounding bark for clothing, it is a gift. It is a gift of knowledge and skill. It is a gift of remembering cultural practices. It is a gift of finding connection with ancestors, with the land, and with the plants.
Long story, shortened. Years passed by. Duane lost his wife Katie to cancer. Betty went to school in New Mexico and came back to the Pacific Northwest. Duane and Betty bumped into each other at the grocery store. From that point these two amazing individuals – artists, teachers, historians, culture keepers, community leaders – teamed up in marriage. They formed a non-profit called the Jay Hawk Institute, and the ripples of their influence have traveled far and wide. Their gifts are given to anyone interested in learning about the arts and skills of Pacific Northwest carving and Coast Salish Wool weaving. Through the Jay Hawk Institute’s programs and projects they share their insights and experiences. Those ripples of knowledge shared have already spread through several generations.
This is an important short film made by the Jay Hawk Institute, which shares Betty’s Project of the construction a Cedar Bark Sail for her family’s canoe: Revival of the Cedar Sail
Can’t see me, but I was there, in Ed’s little canoe, behind Josh Mason.
Betty tries out the sail rigged on dry land first.
Last Summer, the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art presented their first ever BRAVA AWARDS and Suquamish Elder, Betty Pasco, was one of four recipients! She is deserving of this recognition and honor. The unrestricted award is meaningful and affirming to any artist. One of the beautiful things that BIMA did for Betty and the other recipients, was to make a profile film, so each artist could tell some of their story. I am grateful to Cynthia Sears for supporting artists like Betty. All the films made for BIMA are educational, inspiring, and available for us all to grow from. I hope you enjoy. 2023-betty-pasco