Eagles and Art

On the furthest northwest corner of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, a First Nations people is reclaiming their heritage, their language, and their relationship with the animal tribes who share the earth. Neah Bay honored the bald eagle at the 2011 Eagle Festival, Saturday, April 23.

The main festival was an traditional arts fair and open kitchen in the Makah Marina. At 1:00, a lecture and slide-show about the life-cycle of the bald eagle and efforts to repair and maintain its populations was presented at the Makah Museum by Rob McCoy, Wildlife Manager for the Makah Tribe.

The best place to view the eagles themselves is in on the beach behind the Marina.

Since the days of Columbus, the non-native cultures -- at least one of which now honors the eagle as a symbol of its patriotism -- shot and poisoned birds of prey as vermin or target practice. In South America, the condor, originally treated as sacred by natives, has been used by non-natives cultures in ceremonies that beat and kill the birds as symbols of the conquest of nature and the native cultures.

In Neah Bay, where the bald eagles fearlessly compete with gulls and crows on the beaches for food, children are instructed, "Don't point at an eagle."

At the lecture, McCoy described how the Makah have worked with wildlife and forestry management to insure that the numerous eagle nests that encircle the Makah homeland remain successful, even in an economic situation that utilizes the out-of-date methods of forestry, such as clear-cutting.

Clallam County is sponsoring the development of more modern and sustainable methods, such as selective harvesting, and even the more energy-efficient horse logging, as well as forestry recovery and tourism.

Most of the eagle nests, especially those in isolated areas such as Cape Flattery, are required to be surrounded by at least 600 feet around them, to avoid disturbance to nesting birds.

McCoy did point out that the eagles living near downtown Neah Bay had become accustomed to everything from festival fireworks to the morning whoops of barking dogs, and continue to raise their families in the midst of their noisy human neighbors.

The audience chuckled when he described calls his office received from concerned residents and tourists, who hear fledglings shouting for food in the trees behind the museum and assume they have been abandoned.

McCoy pointed out that, as youngsters, the young eagles need a lot of food to finish their development, and they want fed now, next, and all the time.

While, thanks to concerted efforts to revive their fading numbers, eagles are no longer on the endangered species list, it is still illegal to own any feathers or other parts of an eagle, hawk or other migratory bird (with the exception of parts obtained from those birds taken with hunting licenses) unless they are obtained from a central federal collection bank, and the individual applying is registered as Native with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The fines for illicitely possessing these parts are quite stiff, ranging from $100,000 for individuals to $200,000 for companies.

McCoy says that the Makah do not yet have such a registered bank for their community. He pointed out that no one he knew was likely to stop a native for just having a feather hanging from a rear-view mirror, but that commercial use of the same feather would lead to investigation and enforcement, because otherwise the eagles and other birds would simply disappear from overuse.

Makah used to leave fish parts for the eagles on the Marina beach, but the large birds became too excited over the feast, and would fly into the power lines over the beach.

Before the lecture, at the Makah Marina, County Commissioner Mike Doherty stood before a table covered with a selection of finished and working cedar-weaving projects. Michelle Corpuz, June Ward and Alva Cummins shared lively and detailed description of traditional Makah approaches to the ancient and practical art-form.

The materials for the baskets, including cedar bark, bear grass and sweetgrass, are all picked by hand in the woods by the women, guaranteeing a completely natural product.

"It better be," quipped Ward. "Especially when you have it in your mouth all the time."

Basket-weavers use their mouths and toes as "third hands," to manipulate and keep order among the long strands of bark and grass.

At another table, Caul Irving wove "Journey hats," the waterproof hats that resemble, in outline and function, the native farming hats of Asia, often woven with designs of Wolf, Deer, Killer Whale and Thunderbird. Mary Hunter shared the methods making of woven bracelets with two visitors from New Zealand, Cathy Cotton and Brenton Searle.

Cotton and Searle, visiting in the area, had entered Washburn's store to purchase recreational passes, and were given a friendly recommendation to attend the Eagle Festival. They said they were fascinated by the artwork and culture.

Hunter explained how nothing is wasted in the methods used in Makah arts. Any outer bark left from processing cedar bark is used for kindling, and leftovers are thrown on the ground to provide nutrients for the soil and food for animals, with an intent to respect what nature has given.

Irving interjected with a grin, "I have a squirrel named Paul; I feed him Costco nuts."

The adze and the chips flew as Jeramiah Claplanhoo, under the tutelage of carver Aaron Parker, shaped small replicas of the emblematic Makah wolf-headed canoe, using methods that depend entirely on traditional, hand-powered tools.

As a direct descendant of the last Makah Chieftain, Parker has taken the name of 'Ciqawik, his ancestor's name.

Vicky Druge demonstrated how to make a flat dance drum from elk hide. She said that all hides, including deer and cow, have different sounds when used for drums. She said that cow hide was pricey, as compared to the hides of native animals taken by tribal hunters, but she wanted to try it next.

Theresa Salazar sat carefully carving away contact paper to form stencils on crystal goblets, readying the vessels to be etched in traditional designs that she first draws in freehand pencil on the paper. The use of modern glass etching with west coast formlines is evidence of the continuing vitality of these ancient art forms.

The Marina kitchen was open, providing coffee and food, including "Indian Tacos," the delicious frybread heaped generously with taco fillings. No celebration is complete in Neah Bay without frybread.

The eagles themselves, with their shining white heads and tails and broad wingspans, are the stars and honored guests of the festival.