Excerpts from a conversation between artist Marilyn Wandrey and the curator on September 13th, 2022

Tell me about this shawl. 

This shawl was made by Bill James. The big paddle to Bella Bella was a challenge made by Chief Frank Brown. Chief Frank Brown challenged all of the tribes to pull up to Bella Bella. He had pulled down here for the Centennial when the tribes that had canoes at that time pulled into Seattle. So he challenged us. None of us had canoes except the ones out on the coast and the Makahs. So we all had to build canoes. When it came time to go, I wanted to have some kind of regalia. So I went to Bill James, and I purchased that shawl; it's just a beautiful, beautiful shawl, and I also bought some things that his mom had made, Fran James. So I wore that. I have a picture of Ed Carriere and I when we were in Bella Bella, and I had that on. I had also purchased a hat from him. I also had purchased a hat from him. Oh, it was an awesome hat! It was a woven cedar hat, but on top, it had spiky cedar pieces that stuck up; it was just a really nice hat. I’ve had that hat this whole time. 

When was the paddle to Bella Bella? 

That was in 1993.

When you started weaving, who were your teachers? 

Subiyay, I wove a dress, and I wove a shawl with Subiyay.

How long did you know Bill James?

I met him and Fran prior to purchasing that shawl sometime in the late 80s. Such nice people. Their hospitality is just something else. Just like the old time, the way people behaved back then, they opened their door, you know, everything, they just took care of you. Food went on the table–you sat there and told stories and enjoyed each other’s company. You know, he became Chief; sometime after that, the tribe made him a chief. 

And was a great leader. 

Yes, great leader, a great speaker. Such love and such hospitality. I adored those two people. 

Why was it important for you to have regalia when you paddled into Bella Bella?

I just felt that the ancestors were all gathered around and were just so happy to see all of us preparing to go. Because we really had nothing in terms of a great culture. That had sort of been drawn out some years before when the white man came here and settled here. You know we had to go to their schools and not speak our language anymore. And so this was really important to me because I could just feel my ancestors around me and how happy they were. So I wanted to be able to stand there with something that reflected them. That woven shawl and that cedar hat made me feel like I was making them proud. 

Tell me about this shawl and two headbands.

Those were made by Fran James, and she also being the mother of Bill James, you know she instilled all of those, the culture of the people, the kind of, what would you call it? Their way of life, their way of being, when you walked into a room, you didn’t speak right away, you let your spirits meet first before you started speaking. I learned that from them, and I learned that from Subiyay that that's how when you came into somebodies house, that's how you behaved. Another thing when you came to their house if you had anything that was bothering you, anything that was gossip, or any of that sort of thing, it was like there was a basket outside, and you took that and put it in a basket, you just had good words to say. When you left, if you wanted it, you could pick it back up. 

(laughter) Maybe you do yourself a favor and leave it there. 

That’s just how they were, you know. Right away something to drink was made for you and food was put on the table and you just really had a good time when you went to their home. You just felt loved, respected, and lifted up. 

Tell me about this skirt.

This woven skirt. I made this. I wanted to have the canoe on it to represent who I am, Wahalcut. I carry that name. It was my great grandfather's name. Vi Hilbert has told me that that name reflected leadership and the historian of the family, so she put that name on me when I was initiated into the Puyallup Smokehouse, so that name is very, very special to me for those two reasons. Also, on that skirt, I took part of a design that my great-grandmother Celia Rogers made; it's a very special skirt. 

I’d say that you’ve lived up to the name that was put on you. 

Thank you. 

I know that when I was just a really little girl, my Kiya Julia Jacob, my aunty Agatha, and Agatha’s daughter Isabel took my little cheeks in their hands, and they were looking at me. And they said, “this is the one. She’s going to do it.” So I grew up wondering what they meant because they didn’t tell me, ya know, “ this is the one, she’s going to do it.” I’ve been put in some very important positions, and I feel like I’ve done a lot of work in Indian Country and for tribes. I’ve been involved with the Indianola community, this time for the second time, to help them with combating the racism, so they call on me to help them do that. I feel really good about that. One of the things is education. So they want to put information out there. The port of Indianola has a board that meets on a regular basis. They have this big sign right by the old dock, and it has some information about Indianola. In meeting with the committee, we brought it to the board and recommended putting another sign right next to it, the same size, with information about the Tribe. So we went to the board, and they said, “yes, definitely, make it the same size.” They asked for a border to be put on the sign that is the same. So Angee is working on that border design. There’s also a bench that’s being made, and I got them to involve this young artist from Suquamish. We always call on the same ones all the time. I want someone young who is trying to get started. So we’re gonna have that special bench on the dock and that sign. It’ll do a lot to give people an understanding of who this land belongs to and who are the people who are here, and some history.