RSSNative Americans' past, present merge impressively
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More than 100 years after Lee Moorhouse took scores of black-and-white photographs of the native peoples of the Columbia River Plateau, six Native Americans set out to document their own culture and lives.
On Sunday, those digital images, shot in the Lower Valley during the early spring of 2008, and Moorhouse's images, reproduced from the original glass plate negatives, will go on display at the Larson Gallery in an exhibit titled "Through the Lens -- Past and Present."
But that isn't all.
Also Sunday, the Yakima Valley Museum will open "Treasures from the Plateau," a vast display of Native American artifacts, and the Allied ArtsCenter will present "Contemporary Native American Art" featuring the work of seven native artists. In addition, the Oak Hollow Gallery will have on display a private collection of Yakama Nation flat beaded bags from the 1920s through 1989.
Together, the exhibits make up the citywide celebration "Yakima Honors Peoples of the Plateau."
"The contrast of each gallery and the museum, everyone has something different to see -- and it all works as a unit," says Leo Adams, an enrolled Yakama member who is one of the artists in the Allied Arts show and who helped as a tribal adviser for the photography exhibit.
All the exhibits open with receptions from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday. There'll be refreshments at each stop, plus a basket weaving demonstration by Yakama Vivian Harrison at the Allied ArtsCenter and a blessing and performance by the Yakama Warriors at 2:30 p.m. at the Larson Gallery.
"Sunday's a good chance to see everything at once," says Jessica Moskwa, executive director for Allied Arts of Yakima Valley. "That gives a pretty complete picture."
The whole idea for the "Yakima Honors" project began a couple of years ago with Larson Gallery Director Cheryl H. Hahn after the gallery secured a showing of the traveling Moorhouse prints. Hahn approached other cultural organizations in town about getting involved in a bigger venture and sought out advice and direction from the staff of the Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center in Toppenish.
"All of a sudden, it multiplied," Hahn says with a smile.
"And so here we are," she adds, standing in the gallery where photos of the past and present wait to be hung on the wall.
Organized by Steve Grafe of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla., the traveling Moorhouse exhibition features 51 photographs of the native peoples of the Columbia River Plateau taken from 1898 to 1915. This is the same exhibition that visited the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle a year ago.
"For us to have this show is just an honor," says Hahn. "People can learn a lot about history from this show."
But as a counterpoint to the Moorhouse view, Hahn turned to six Native American Heritage University students. The photographers were outfitted with digital cameras -- donated by the university -- and just a little guidance.
"We tried to be really careful not to give too much direction," explains Rob Prout, a local photographer and teacher who worked with students on the project along with Carolyn Nelson, chairwoman of Heritage's visual art department. "We really wanted to see what they had to offer."
On first blush, many of the present-day images seem more like snapshots for the family photo album. There are photographs of grandmothers and babies, of a White Swan vs. Mabton high school basketball game, Mount Adams and a cluttered kitchen table.
But look closer, and the photos reveal deep familial bonds, the reverence for the beautiful mountain watching over the reservation and the intimate details of everyday life. They stand in colorful and thoughtful contrast to Moorhouse's stiff and posed portraits.
"We're really pleased with the images ... they're so different than we expected," says Prout.
"I'm anxious to see them up," adds Prout. "They're totally different pictures than what I would have taken as an observer."
In the Allied ArtsCenter's Peggy Lewis Gallery, works from seven contemporary artists, including Yakamas Adams, Harrison and HollyAnna DeCoteau Pinkham, will be on display. (Originally nine artists were to show work but because of the storms in Spokane, Ric Gendron and George Flett were unable to send their work.)
"All the work is not necessarily contemporary art, but it's by contemporary artists," explains Allied Arts' Moskwa.
Adams, known for his paintings and interior designs, will have three paintings in the show, two of which are based on the patterns adorning plateau parfleches, or rawhide carrying bags.
And then at the Yakima Valley Museum, you can see actual parfleches, as well as intricate beadwork, baskets -- including one from the War of 1855 -- gauntlets, saddles and other horse gear and cradle boards representative of Yakama, Klickitat and Nez Perce tribes.
Museum staff, with the help of Yakama elders, selected more than 200 pieces from the museum's own collections for the display. The majority of the objects to be shown came from four donors: Louis O. Janeck, Dr. C.A. Jones, L.V. McWhorter and Dr. William Gannon.
"What we're really looking forward to is showing a lot of our collection," says Mike Siebol, curator of collections for the museum. "We want to really surprise people at the sheer number."
For preservation purposes, only about 5 percent of the museum's Native American artifacts are on permanent display. (Light is the biggest danger to these century-old items. An ultra-violet filter helps protect those on display.)
One of the pieces Siebol is the most excited about is a gorgeous vest beaded with images of elk, bighorn sheep and riders on horses. It'll be displayed alongside a photograph, circa 1900, of Charley Saluskin posing next to the vest.
"Rarely do you get to see a historical photograph of an object we have in our collection," says Siebol, beaming.
In conjunction with the exhibitions, throughout February there will be presentations and panel discussions through the Voices of the Past series and Yakima Valley Community College Diversity Series, as well as an art workshop. Also, on Feb. 7, the Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center will host a dinner, guided tour of its museum and a traditional dance performance. On March 1, Grafe of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum helps wrap things up with a lecture about the Moorhouse show.
* For links to related stories about the Lee Moorhouse exhibition, visit on.yakimablogs.com.
If you go
WHAT: "Yakima Honors Peoples of the Plateau," a citywide celebration of the region's Native American legacy.
WHEN: Opening receptions at multiple venues from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday. All are free.
WHERE:
* At the Larson Gallery, YVCC campus, South 16th Avenue and West Nob Hill Boulevard. "Through the Lens -- Past and Present," features the traveling exhibition "Peoples of the Plateau: The Indian Photographs of Lee Moorhouse, 1898-1915," and current photographs by Heritage University students Kim Agiak, Nicole George, Kendall Mansfield, Brian Pinkham, Michael Sekaquaptewa and Mallorie Yates. The opening reception will feature a blessing and performance by the Yakama Warriors at 2:30 p.m. Runs through March 7. Call 574-4875 or visit www.larsongallery.org.
* At the Yakima Valley Museum, 2105 Tieton Drive. "Treasures from the Plateau," a selection of baskets, beadwork, parfleches and horse gear made by Yakama, Klickitat and Nez Perce Native Americans. Runs through March 29. Call 248-0747 or visit www.yakimavalleymuseum.org.
* At the Allied ArtsCenter, 5000 W. Lincoln Ave. "Contemporary Native American Art" by Lillian Pitt, Leo Adams, Vivian Harrison, HollyAnna DeCoteau Pinkham, Joe Feddersen, Jeremy Red Star Wolf and James Lavador. (Nine artists were to show work but because of the snowstorms in Spokane, Ric Gendron and George Flett were unable to send their work.) The opening reception will feature a basket weaving demonstration by Harrison. Runs through Feb. 19. Call 966-0930 or visit www.alliedartsyakima.org.
* At Oak Hollow Gallery, Chalet Place, 5631 Summitview Ave. A private collection of Yakama Nation flat beaded bags from the 1920s through 1989. Runs through Feb. 20. Call 965-3846.
WHAT ELSE: For a complete list of events related to the "Yakima Honors Peoples of the Plateau" celebration, visit on.yakimablogs.com.
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