Folk Arts - Master Artist - Bobby ayit Rose

The Makah tribe maintains strong cultural traditions involving their natural environment. This includes complex preparation of sea mammals, which are abundant in the waters around the Makah reservation. The Makah tribe is renowned for generosity with food, and preparation of meals is important to their culture. After thirty years of watching and listening to elders prepare seal, Bobby ?ayit Rose has become an expert. She is one of the few Makah left with the knowledge of the entire seal, with such practices as k`a ti th; making seal oil, cicit`; process of cutting and of course `cabasi yax; enjoying the food. Rose acquired her skills the traditional way, by spending time with elders as they dried fish and butchered seal. She is often chosen to prepare meals for her community’s potlatches, and cooks for all traditional events of the Makah Cultural and Research Center.

As a recipient of a 2000 Apprenticeship grant, Rose taught Denise Dailey to traditional treat and prepare seal. Rose focused on teaching Denise how to remove a seal’s skin and blubber, butcher and prepare the meat, render oil, smoke meat and blubber, store, and how to cook and serve a final product.

Denise Dailey has a desire to learn Makah traditions since she was unable to do so as a child. Denise is the Makah’s former Marine Biologist. Learning Makah traditions will add a depth of understanding to her vast marine life knowledge. Denise has also striven to trade her wisdom of biology with Bobby and the rest of the Makah, so they too can share a more complex understanding of the world around them.

As a recipient of a 1995 Apprenticeship grant, Rose taught Marcelina Parker traditional Makah culinary techniques and serving methods. Rose focused on teaching Marcelina how to harvest, process, and preserve seafood and other seasonal foods. Marcelina learned to work with foods including, halibut, octopus, salmon roe, seagull eggs, and seal. In conclusion of the apprenticeship, Rose and Parker will provide several meals for their community at potlatches and other traditional ceremonies. All information learned through the apprenticeship was donated to the Makah Cultural and Research Center for archiving and further teaching.

Marcelina Parker has cooked with Rose for many years. Learning more advanced culinary techniques allowed Marcelina to pass on traditions to future generations.
Rose was awarded a WSAC Fellowship in recognition of the valuable contributions that she has made to preserving Makah cultural heritage.