Looking for Local Gifts? The Duwamish Native Art Market Returns to the Longhouse

"People [say] they're intentional about coming here to do their shopping, and I hear the artists talking about their heritage or their family. It's a time to celebrate who we are," said Britt Rynearson, an artist who will be selling her work at the upcoming Duwamish Native Art Market.

Indigenous local artists have been preparing their work for months to sell to the community over the long weekend. The annual Duwamish Native Art Market runs Nov. 28–30 and Dec. 19, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., at the Duwamish Longhouse.

Here are some of the artists participating in this year's market:

Denise Emerson

Denise Emerson is Diné (Navajo) and enrolled in the Skokomish Tribe. She attended the Institute of American Indian Arts and learned to bead when she was 10. Emerson is now known for colorful beadwork and vibrant digital prints.

Emerson's parents taught all their children about Indigenous ways, particularly after she told her parents about how she learned Christopher Columbus discovered America at school. She recounted her father saying the curriculum "isn't going to be about Native people. We're not in the history books. They don't know us." Emerson said her parents taught her and her siblings how to find water if they get lost, about which foods to gather to eat, how to clean fish and prepare it, and discussed books about the Indigenous experience.

Emerson researches heavily to create her art pieces. A print of the food basket, a circular image about food traditions, depicts food harvesting methods, Coast Salish plants, the family unit, and more. She said the scalloped edge on the outside of the food basket are basket coils that she's heard represent protection of the basket's contents.

Taleena Pelayo

Taleena Pelayo is Tlingit, of the Raven moiety or lineage, and from the Coho clan. Pelayo, originally from Sitka, is a licensed massage therapist who has worked in five-star spas. Pelayo founded and owns Luna White Feather, a wellness brand that incorporates Indigenous medicine.

"COVID brought in a lot of people to alternative medicines. And it's weird to call it alternative, because it's traditional. It's the first medicine," said Pelayo. "I love having tools for people to use."

Pelayo teaches workshops about wellness and will have four types of massage oil blends, along with a devil's club oil, Labrador tea, and T-shirts with artwork by her brother, Gonzalo. This year's supply of devil's club was harvested by Pelayo and her husband in Alaska at her aunt's property.

Terrance Guardipee

Terrance Guardipee is from the Blackfoot Tribe and paints historical Indigenous ledger art. Men of the Plains and Plateau tribes would record the oral histories of war exploits by painting pictographs on buffalo hide robes. From the late 19th century to early 20th century, when paper became more accessible, these records were depicted on ledger paper.

In the late 1990s Guardipee and several other Indigenous artists revived ledger art, and this style spread throughout much of the U.S.and Canada. Artists incorporated cultural references of their individual tribes.

"All the human figures you see in my art are based on family members that lived that lifestyle," said Guardipee. "I redraw their story — how I see them — adding color to them, but never changing who they are." Guardipee's paintings are original, often featuring horses and warriors with symbology representing their breath, spirit, and protection.

Laura Givens

Laura Givens is from the Navajo Nation, and her clan is the Bitter Water people. Her father is Seminole Creek. She and her sister Berne operate Nizhoniful Things, where they sell handmade jewelry. "We'll use fur, ermine pelts, feathers, anything that our ancestors used. We'll contemporize those items and create jewelry for everyone to enjoy," Givens said.

Givens' daughter passed away 12 years ago, and for the one-year memorial, Givens and her family made gifts. "We wanted to put our heart and soul into something to give away to all the people who helped us on our journey." Givens, her mother, and sister learned to bead with help from a niece who had learned beading skills at tribal school.

It was the start of the business. Givens has made jewelry since then. "It's good medicine for me — my healing journey," said Givens, "whether we're putting prayers into each bead that we lay down, or having a good heart, good vibes, good energy. I try to bring that out in all my jewelry."

Peter Boome

Peter Boome, from the Upper Skagit Tribe, is a carver, painter and printmaker who says he's been involved in the Duwamish Native Art Market for about 15 years. He's also a lawyer, judge, and mediator. Boome describes himself as a traditional Coast Salish artist, but works in contemporary colors. He said he likes to bring attention to creatures in the region that often aren't highlighted.

Boome stood next to prints of a red-tailed hawk, a less depicted bird in Indigenous art, and a sturgeon, one of his favorite fish because it's been around since the dinosaurs. The fish is also anadromous, meaning it can travel between salt and fresh water.

He referred to placing an image of a face on a joint — a shoulder, hip, or elbow — of the subject. "[The face] is usually a voice of the future, which is essentially a prayer, hoping for a better future. But sometimes it'll be singing, or sometimes it'll indicate what's going on within that creature that I'm designing."

Nikita Butler

Nikkita Butler, who is Alaskan Aleut Pilot Point Village, started making jewelry with her family during the COVID-19 pandemic. She operates Alutiiq Gems and uses beads, gems, and shells — dentalium, abalone, and mother-of-pearl — and fur from different species of fox.

"A lot of our [Aleut] regalia actually has fur on it. So these are inspired by those," said Butler as she pointed to earrings using puffs of fox fur.

She said she's inspired by colors of the season, and her fringe earrings sometimes have patterns of Alutiiq basket weaving. She also weaves earrings and will be at the Dec. 19 Duwamish Native Art Market.

Britt Rynearson

Britt Rynearson is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Arrow Lakes Band, and her great grandmother is from the Yakama Nation. She has a professional background in textile arts and works in communications for the Snoqualmie Tribal Council.

Rynearson sells jewelry and kinetic sculptures she calls "kinship circles." These are typically three circles that vary in size, and each orbits around a center object. "You could identify the center object as the self, and then the closest circle could be your children. The next one out could be your family. And the furthest circle out would maybe be your ancestors," said Rynearson. "[The rings] move. So the idea is that as you watch them move, it's a meditation of thinking about your own connections and your own kinship relationships."

Rynearson will also be at the Dec. 19 Duwamish Native Art Market.

Editors' Note: Expressions of tribal affiliations are personal. When interviewing people for this piece, the Emerald used their words to indicate individual tribal affiliations or used the affiliations stated in website bios.

South End Life Bulletin Board

$8 Food Walk in the CID

Saturday, Nov. 29, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Chinatown-International District

Take a stroll through Chinatown International District and try out $8 featured dishes and items from the 55 participating businesses for Small Business Saturday. Giveaways and an Intentionalist pass are available for extra savings.

Other Market Options

Revolutionary Art Bazaar

Friday, Nov. 28, noon–6 p.m.
606 Maynard Ave.

The Seattle Liberation Center is hosting a Revolutionary Art Sale where artists will sell artwork, stickers, totes, and more.

Art Market for Gaza and Sudan

Saturday, Nov. 29, noon–4 p.m.
A Resting Place, 670 S. King St.

All proceeds of this art market go to organizations in Gaza and Sudan.

Holiday Market for Southeast Seattle Schools

Saturday, Nov. 29, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
South Shore K–8, 4800 S. Henderson St.

Shop at this Families Crafting Change art market and a portion of the proceeds will go toward Southeast Seattle Schools.

Pop-Up Shop 4 Mutual Aid

Saturday, Nov. 29, noon–4 p.m.
Cherry Street Village - Auditorium, 720 25th Ave.

Fashion 4 Reparations, a mutual aid, pay-what-you-want clothing store is hosting a pop-up shop with a mending corner and free soup.

Yuko Kodama is the News editor for the South Seattle Emerald. She is passionate about the critical role community media plays in our information landscape and loves stories that connect us to each other and our humanity. Her weekly "South End Life" column spotlights the stories of neighbors and community members that weave through the South End.