This week, we'll hear from Brittany Britton, the Registrar-Curator for the Nealis Hall Native American Collections. She'll be discussing a few of the interesting finds she's had while working on an inventory of the collections.

Working with the Nealis Hall basket collection, and looking through our storage area I have been finding interesting baskets that have some materials that deviate from the norm. We are used to seeing baskets that have the typical overlay decoration of beargrass, alder dyed woodwardia fern, maidenhair fern, and wolf moss dyed porcupine quills as the decorative element in basketry here in the Northwest California coast. What have been of interest are the moments when local weavers took chances with other materials.  

Most ceremonial caps will have design work on the crown with traditional materials, but here we have woven dyed yarn added into the overlay for a different color such as this cap from the 1890’s from the Hastings collection.

Finally a fabric embellishment that serves more of a utilitarian purpose. This acorn flour hopper was collected by Cecile Clarke, it is an item used to keep pounded acorn flour in place when using a mortar and pestle.

When I look at our collections it serves to highlight that the notion of traditional materials changes over time with processes. People use what is available to them throughout time, and these man-made materials are what were available and not seen as a detractor to the basket they made.  

Thank you to everyone who participated in and came to the museum for our 6th annual Archaeology and Cultural Awareness Day on Saturday!  There was a great turnout and vistors had a great time. 
Thank you to the following individuals and groups that presented and made this event a success:

• Shirley Laos and the Yurok Cultural Passport team
• Michael Peterson, Flintknapper
• Barbara Klessig, Marisol Cortez-Rincon and the Humboldt State Anthropology Club
• Darcy Brown
• Nichole Vasquez, Intern and event photographer

On September 29, Patrick’s Point State Park hosted Sumeg Village Day, an event celebrating and honoring Yurok cultural practices. Sumeg is a recreated Yurok village featuring traditional-style redwood plank houses, sweathouses, canoes and a native plant garden that is open to the public and used throughout the year for cultural demonstrations and education of the public and Yurok youth.  

The museum strives to balance public accessibility to artifacts, protection of artifacts, and the cultural care of items in the museum collections when participating in events by loaning out designated items for use in traditional ceremonies and for public outreach events. The utmost care is taken to protect the structural integrity of the items while also ensuring that the items are strengthened spiritually through their participation in the dances. This program has been instrumental in helping revitalize local dance traditions as tribal members have been able to use and study regalia and create their own to start dancing again. We hope to continue supporting the continuing expansion of the dances and supporting the continual communication between the past and present through the study of historic regalia and the creation of new regalia.

This week, we'll hear from museum Director Ben Brown, who recently spoke on KINS' Community Comment. Listen to the KINS Community Comment to hear about the history and future of the corner of 3rd and E here.