Our First Black Ash Class a Great Success! Jan 2010

Our first Traditional Arts class (with Wasson Dillard) on Black Ash gathering, preparing and weaving went off without a hitch! Twenty-four people attended on Saturday and twenty made it for the second class on Sunday. On the first day we spent time identifying and distinguishing between black ash, white ash and crossbreeds of ash trees. (Black ash is the best for basketry.) We also learned how to identify the tiny D-shaped hole of the emerald ash borer to be able to tell if the tree had the parasite. Above all, Wasson shared the importance of talking with the tree you are to harvest and thanking it for it’s life.

Next we moved on to pounding the ash log to remove strips from the growth rings. These strips are called splints and are split length-wise to make them thin enough to weave. By the end of our first day’s hard work, most of us had started the bottom of our baskets. On Sunday, Wasson helped us finish them.

We’d like to say Chi-miigwech to Wasson who spent so much time and patience with us while we learned. And for donating two of her baskets and a black ash broom to the Burt Lake Band. Miigwech also to four new weavers who also generously donated their baskets to the Band!
Our Black Ash CPP’s are Roy Parkey, David Massey, Doris Massey, Loretta Parkey, Maddie Slocum and Kay Touhy. The next time you see them give them a great big Miigwech for learning and committing their time and hard work to ensure that these traditions continue within the Burt Lake Band.

We’re all very excited for our February Black Ash class which will be on the 13th and 14th. Again, that class will take place after Tribal Council. It will run from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

All BLB citizens are encouraged to come, especially those who attended our first class. Wasson will be teaching us more intricate weaves and embellishments to add to our basketry and will be available for any questions that may have arisen after the first class.

I’d personally like to thank our Coordinator, Mary Slocum for sewing colorful tote bags for our CPP’s. (Excellent work, Mary!) Miigwech to Jordan and Rae-Lynn Parkey and Maddie Slocum for helping to bake cookies and clean up. Miigwech to all who brought food for the event. Miigwech to Roy Parkey, David Massey and Loretta Parkey for returning on Monday to help split more splints. Special Miigwech goes out to Kay Touhy who swept on Sunday and who stayed until 8:30 with me Monday night pounding the ash log and splitting the remaining splints.

It’s difficult to believe but we are already at the end of our first quarter with the Traditional Arts grant. Quarterly reporting will be submitted by the end of January. We are moving along as planned and are actually a little ahead of our work schedule. Throughout the next two years, I’ll continue to stress the importance of what we have ahead of us. This isn’t just learning a “craft”. What we are learning are forms of utilitarian artwork that can be used in everyday life like our ancestors did. But as Wasson stressed throughout our Black Ash class, it’s much more than that. We also learn the stories and spirituality that accompanies these skills. That is just as important as learning the art. We need to remember that so we can pass those on to others, as well.

After listening to Wasson describe her passion and dedication to this art and the importance of keeping these traditions alive, one can view a Black Ash Basket (and the other arts) as by-products of our values. We don’t, for instance, put all of this hard work into what we do simply to have a basket at the end of our work. We do it because it is who we are, it’s our culture. And it’s our responsibility to keep those values for future generations. And that’s the whole goal of our Traditional Arts Project: to preserve and keep those traditions alive.