Category: Jamestown S’Klallam

Masterful carvings

The carvings of Dusty Humphries, Sr. were featured at the Peninsula College Longhouse for three months recently. I got there last week on the second to last day of the exhibit. I’m sorry I couldn’t publicize the beautiful show to locals before it closed.

Humphries is of the Jamestown S’Klallam and Makah Tribes and his work explores Native American themes. The detail above is part of a seabird paddle.

This is a Salmon spindle whorl. I’ve lightened the shot to show more of the detail. It’s a deeply colored red cedar piece, approximately 18 inches (approx. 1/2 meter) across.

Early versions of these contemporary combs have been found in local archaeological digs. Similar pieces from one dig were displayed by the Lower Elwah Tribe a couple of years ago but photos were not allowed. I was pleased to photograph these contemporary beautiful, functional pieces.

This piece was carved from yew with applied abalone shell. There were other works on display but these were some of my favorites.

Working wood

There was an exhibit of the beautiful wood carvings of Dusty Humphries, Sr. at the Longhouse of Peninsula College in Port Angeles recently.

Humphries’ work features traditional Native American themes. These handmade tools were part of the display.

Most tool users can appreciate the beauty of these pieces.

Can you make out the piles of wood chips in this old photograph? This is a massive tree trunk being worked into a traditional Native American boat, chip by chip. The Native woodworker here is using an adz, variations of which are shown in the top photos. The man was photographed around 1914-15 by Fannie Taylor, an early postmistress in Mora, an early white settlement on our coast that no longer exists. This photo was in an office in the Longhouse.

Come back tomorrow to have a look at some of the work of Dusty Humphries, Sr.

Lunch at the Brothers’ House

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe recently opened The House of Seven Brothers, a new restaurant in their Seven Cedars Casino in Blyn.

A friend and I figuratively had lunch there with the brothers the other day. The masks on the wall of the restaurant represent and honor seven brothers whose genealogy is part of the Tribe’s present day lineage.

The dining room was remodeled from a previous buffet restaurant and enlarged with space from a former gift shop. As with other Tribal enterprises this one is nicely done and very attractive.

An open kitchen stands at the back of the restaurant. Based on our lunches, it produces tasty food. The new restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Blyn ablaze

The tiny community of Blyn, located at the head of Sequim Bay, is the center of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, which owns the community and operates its tribal activities there. At this time each year the landscape is a breathtaking wonderland as miniature lights are tightly woven onto trees and shrubs along the highway and next to the tribe’s many enterprises.

We came through at dusk, before the full effect of the lights and colors could be seen. But you can get hint of what it’s like: truly stunning.

The lights are on both sides of Highway 101 and frame the tribe’s many enterprises, including a casino, gas station and convenience store, a community center, library, gift shop, totem carving shed, and other buildings that serve the tribe and its activities. It’s well worth seeing if you’re in the area.

Local totem

I haven’t photographed totem poles for quite a while. I will soon show you some from the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. But first here’s one from the S’Klallam Tribe that stands near the Jamestown Medical Center in Sequim. I picked up a brochure about it some years back but can’t seem to put my hands on it again.

On the bridge

Railroad Bridge is an old railroad trestle across the Dungeness River, owned by our local Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. It is a link in the Olympic Discovery Trail and is well used by walkers and bicyclists. A couple of years ago the section of the bridge beyond the wooden trestle seen here in the foreground collapsed after being battered by debris during flooding. It was rebuilt and after it was completed the entire bridge was repaved.

The repaving incorporated beautiful plaques with motifs that are used in Native American art in this region.

The plaques are about 3 feet by 2 feet (.91 meters by .60 meters).

They are striking additions to the bridge.