Folk Arts - Master Artist - Virginia Adams

Virginia (seq.hablu) Adams, a member of the Suquamish Tribe, is an accomplished Salish weaver. She learned to weave in the Salish style primarily from the teachings of the late Bruce subiyay Miller and Margaret Dean. Adams was taught traditional methods of gathering, preparing, pounding, shredding, and weaving cedar bark weft on wool warp—the warp being the lengthwise strings, which are attached to a loom, with the weft being the material that is woven into it to create fabric.

The traditional attire of the Salish People is made of cedar bark and woven in the same techniques Adams learned through Miller and Dean. Today, cedar bark clothing is worn mostly as regalia at traditional events such as potlatches and the Coastal Canoe gatherings. Salish weaving techniques were nearly lost a generation ago. The custom of passing information from one individual to another has been an important tool in preserving Salish weaving and other Suquamish Tribe traditional art forms. Adams continues this practice by teaching others cedar bark weaving.

As the recipient of a 2005-2006 Apprenticeship grant, through the Washington State Arts Commission, Adams taught Salish cedar bark weaving to Shayna Spring Bagley. An active part of the Northwest Salish community, Bagley has participated in Tribal Canoe Journeys for several years. In the 2006 Tribal Canoe Journey, the Suquamish Canoe family wore Bagley ’s cedar bark capes and skirts as regalia.

For the past several years, Bagley has continued to expand her education in traditional Suquamish forms by taking classes in the lushootseed language. In 2003, she was selected as the Chief Seattle Days Princess. She intends to continue passing cultural information onto others by sharing her knowledge with "anyone who feels that they are ready to learn.”