Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

Growing, gathering, and weaving with plant fibers from the Pacific Northwest

Clam Basket – A Story By Ed Carriere

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This 15 minute Cultural Art Film is Now Available – New Canoe Media

After decades of dreaming, and two years in the making, this story has found a beautiful way to be told.

For the Puget Sound Coast Salish People of the Suquamish Tribe, weaving baskets from cedar limbs and roots and digging clams are age-old traditions that come together in the Clam Basket. This short film by Suquamish elder Ed Carriere demonstrates his mastery of the ancestral art form and the land it sprang from.

Produced by: Katie@NewCanoeMedia.com
New Canoe: Media strategies and services that support engaged learning

 

About Melinda

Forty years ago, while sitting on the beach playing with my young children, I made my first basket out of a pile of willow trimmings someone had tossed there. It looked wildly made like a crazy bird’s nest. While being together with my two sons on a beautiful Pacific Northwest shoreline, this simple experience of crafting with the natural materials at hand kindled a passion for creating forms using plant fibers. I thank my family, my community, and all my teachers for cultivating this gift in me.
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Melinda West and basket, Indianola WA