WA Secretary of State Blogs

The Shoalwater Bay Tribe has a beautiful new museum/library.

September 15th, 2017 Nono Burling Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, Site Visits, Tribal Comments Off on The Shoalwater Bay Tribe has a beautiful new museum/library.

From the desk of Carolyn Petersen

Congratulations to the Shoalwater Bay Tribe on their new museum library location!

People lined up against a wall. A man and a woman shaking hands. Native American drums in the picture.On Friday, September 8, the Shoalwater Bay tribe realized a long held dream of opening a museum to highlight their cultural contributions to their community.  Tribal Library Consultant Carolyn Petersen conveyed a letter of congratulations on their achievement from Secretary of State Kim Wyman which was presented to tribal members.

Some of the highlights of the collection: a cedar hand dugout canoe, a recreation of a tribal headdress using eagle feathers collected from the beach combined with an otter skin purchased at a tribal gathering, and a facsimile of the map with President Andrew Jackson’s signature showing the Shoalwater Bay reservation

Shoalwater Bay tribal librarian Linda Rose Woman leaning on a low bookshelf in a library.was excited at the opening as well because it meant that the tribal library now shares space with the museum which is on a prime location on the coastal highway (in Tokeland, WA.)  Many more folks will discover the library in its current location.  New shelving on casters will allow Linda to accommodate her frequent community programming.

The tribe hopes many visitors will stop by to appreciate both the museum and the library.

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Lively Art @ the Ellensburg Public Library

February 1st, 2013 Will Stuivenga Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, Site Visits Comments Off on Lively Art @ the Ellensburg Public Library

Hal Holmes Center Mural (adjacent to the library) Many libraries are embellished with significant pieces of art found in the building or on the immediate grounds, enhancing their attractiveness to patrons and visitors. Not too long ago I had the opportunity to visit the Ellensburg Public Library, where I encountered quite a remarkable collection of art works. If you’re in Ellensburg, it’s worth a visit to the library just to check them out!

Many of the art pieces there grace the exterior building and grounds. These ranged from the brightly colored mural on the adjacent Hal Holmes Center building, to the charming if slightly disconcerting Kitt Coyote who greets you as you approach the library entrance. On the day I visited, he was flourishing a brightly colored bouquet of flowers that someone had handed to him.Kitt Coyote @ Ellensburg Public Library entrance

I hope you’ll follow the links to view several more pictures of these pieces and more. Look for the appealing bas relief of a girl and boy sharing a book under the apple trees, with a mountain in the background.

Not to mention the impressive labyrinth, depicting the history of the county in four quadrants: In the Beginning; And Then People Came to Live; And Then People Built Towns and Industries; And Now Our Hands Build for the Future.

Inside you’ll encounter the beautiful Margaret Holms Memorial stained glass window, depicting a woman reading to children, while a couple of engaging dogs look on. Brightly colored ceramic tiles and earth toned vases by a local artist ornament another room. The whimsical anthropomorphic stepping stool “whatsit” is apparently a favorite with the children, while kindergartners themselves painted the equally delightful “Tulip in the Kinder Garden” a splashily decorated exemplar of the “Cows Around Town” project.

Finally, I had the enjoyment of viewing several of Doc Hageman’s pieces fashioned from paper pill cups. Since those were a temporary exhibit while I was there, you probably won’t be lucky enough to see them if you visit now.

Art makes everyone’s day brighter, especially when it’s found @ the library!

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The Roslyn Library Inhabits a “New” Space.

October 26th, 2012 Carolyn Petersen Posted in Articles, For the Public, Site Visits Comments Off on The Roslyn Library Inhabits a “New” Space.

Jail door from original Rosyln city jail

Formerly the library was shoehorned into a series of small rooms on the main floor of the Roslyn City Hall. A combination of civic fundraising and grant writing allowed the City of Roslyn to jack the historic building up and rebuild and renovate the space beneath the main floor.

The City Library now inhabits a spacious portion of that ground floor with the Roslyn City Council Chambers.  These quarters are only temporary as the City intends to move forward with remodeling the original main floor.  When the remodel is finished, the library will move back upstairs.  The downstairs will then become a series of meeting rooms and offices.

Hundreds of hours of local volunteer labor and thousands of dollars of community fundraising made the new furniture, technology and new materials which grace the remodeled Roslyn possible. Highlights of the space:

  • Light pours into the space from the numerous windows.
  • The wooden shelving salvaged from the downtown Seattle Nakumura Court House blends beautifully with the new furniture.
    The bench was a find that is very popular with folks who like to sit while selecting audio and large print books.
  • A wide bench which has quickly become a favorite spot for customers to sit and peruse new adult materials was a local find on Craigslist. Handcrafted from old growth Douglas fir and put together with no nails, it’s even better because the craftsman is a library patron.
  • The local art wall which coexists next to a salvaged jail door from the original City Jail. Picturing America, National Endowment for Humanities grant, was the genesis of Roslyn’s effort to highlight their local artists on a rotating basis.
  • The jail door adds historical flavor with a story on the wall from a former inmate.  The inmate reports that he went out a convenient window to collect his shoes from home and was back in his jail cell without the jailer being any wiser.

Roslyn City library patrons are justly proud of their new library space.

To see more pictures of the Roslyn library, visit our Flickr page!

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Spokane Indian Tribal Early Learning Center

September 19th, 2012 Carolyn Petersen Posted in Articles, For the Public, News, Site Visits, Tribal Comments Off on Spokane Indian Tribal Early Learning Center

Pauline Stearns Early Learning Center

Recently I visited the Spokane Indian reservation at Wellpinit, Washington, to conduct training on math and science readiness for the tribe’s early childhood center staff.

The Pauline Stearns Early Learning Center is only a year or so old.  In addition to providing a bright spacious up to date and modern learning center for their children with the latest equipment, the tribe did some other things which impressed me as well.

Mindy Flett, the Child Development manager for the tribe, related that the tribe had used the construction of the Early Learning facility to give individuals who wished to have training in the construction trades experience.  Individuals apprenticed under experienced workers.

One of the “experts” stood out.  He was bas relief artist.  Consequently, the building is rich with art that reflects the children’s heritage and natural surroundings.

The tribe also decided to take advantage of the area’s bountiful sunlight. An entire array of photoelectric cells stands next to the Stearns Center parking lot to power the building.

Photos of the Pauline Stearns Early Learning Cener, the bas relief art and the photoelectric cells are below.

 

Solar power for the daycare center.

Elk Herd Bas Relief

 

Moose Bas Relief

Eagle Bas Relief

Forest Bas Relief

Bear Paw Bas Relief

Bear Family Bas Relief

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Summer Library Reading and Lunch in Sprague, WA

September 5th, 2012 Matthew Roach Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, Site Visits 1 Comment »

From the Desk of Carolyn Petersen, Assistant Program Manager, Library Development

How many libraries would be willing to take on the challenge of providing an hour long summer reading program four days a week for 8 weeks– and then top off that challenge with the additional duty of providing lunch to the children immediately after the program?

That challenge would daunt most libraries who have multiple library staff. Sprague City (population 441) librarian Judy Boutain knows what her community’s kids needed and didn’t back away from the challenge.  Beginning the last week of June and continuing until August 23rd Judy with the help of one summer youth worker provided an hour long summer reading program and then took the kids across the street to the park for lunch.  Her attendance varied from 14 to 42.

The Sprague community recognized Judy’s achievement by electing her as the parade marshal of Sprague Days, a local community celebration.  Sitting down in the car during the parade probably gave Judy some well deserved rest!

Kudos to Judy Boutain for being willing to provide both mental and physical nourishment to the kids of her community.

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Gardens in Unexpected Places

August 13th, 2012 Carolyn Petersen Posted in Articles, For the Public, Site Visits, Tribal 2 Comments »

The first sight that greeted Diane Hutchins and me as we parked in the Hibulb Cultural Center lot on the Tulalip Indian reservation was a gorgeous garden.  The individual responsible for the garden, Veronica Leahy, happened to be working on site. Before we entered the Cultural Center for our visit, we chatted with her. Veronica said that this is a collaborative program which has involved the WSU master gardeners and a local community college in addition to the classes she leads.

Besides learning about gardening, classes of thirty or more tribal members have also learned how to cook the abundant produce that results.  The goal of the program is to promote healthy activities to improve tribal health.  The loveliness of the garden itself is a great by product.  Here are more pictures of the garden.

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Unexpected Benefits—and Connections

August 13th, 2012 Carolyn Petersen Posted in Articles, For the Public, Site Visits, Tribal Comments Off on Unexpected Benefits—and Connections

Carolyn Petersen holding a zucchini from the Hibulb Cultural Center

When I set out to visit the Hibulb Cultural Center recently I had no idea that one of the results would be zucchini cake, zucchini bread and zucchini bars.  That one zucchini I’m holding in the photo produced 10 cups of raw material.  Just as the Tulalip tribe is using this garden as a way to have families work together and learn to cook healthy food together, the zucchini served as a vehicle to put me in touch with my family.  My mother comes from a Langford, South Dakota.  The cookbook I used to find the zucchini recipes resulted as a centennial (1889 to 1989) project of Lutheran church that my mother’s family has attended for several generations.  Flipping through the pages familiar names floated past along with remembrances of whose recipes could be trusted and whose could not! The zucchini resulted in family memories sprouting once more.

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Discover the Hibulb Cultural Center

August 10th, 2012 Diane Hutchins Posted in Articles, For the Public, News, Site Visits, Tribal Comments Off on Discover the Hibulb Cultural Center

Looking for a change of scene? Trying to find a place that the whole family can enjoy? Visit the Tulalip Tribes’ Hibulb [pronounced “Hee-Bolb”] Cultural Center & Natural History Preserve in Tulalip.

Hibulb Cultural Center

On Wednesday, August 9, my colleague, Carolyn Petersen, and I had the pleasure of meeting staff from the Hibulb Cultural Center & Natural History Preserve and being treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of their curation facility, which is responsible for managing historic Tribal artifacts and burials that are discovered throughout Puget Sound. We also were introduced to the Center Director, Hank Gobin, who has stated in the online publication Tulalip Tribes: Cultural History Powers Today’s Progress, “We are looking to become a resource for government and the private sector, to promote proper archeological surveys and analysis before construction and to assist in properly managing discoveries to minimize the costly and disrespectful incidents that have occurred in recent years.” This is reflected in the state-of-the-art curation facility where artifacts are lovingly treated to bring the past back to life and a museum where visitors can be informed by the past. There is also a natural history preserve where anyone can be inspired and reconnect with nature.

The Center is celebrating its first anniversary next weekend, and is offering a variety of programs and events, with something for everyone. Admission will be free during this special weekend. Events will include:

Saturday, August 18:

  • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. – Beading demonstration by Richard Muir, Jr.;
  • 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Organic vegetable gardening, gardening with families, and cooking with television personality, Cisco Morris;
  • 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Pacific Northwest Drawing workshop with Steve Madison;
  • 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. – Movie screening of “Smoke Signals” with Tracy Rector.

Sunday, August 19:

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Lecture and book signing by Billy Frank, Jr., Nisqually tribal activist and subject of the latest publication from the Legacy Project of the Office of the Secretary of State, Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr., by Trova Heffernan. Note: Copies of this book are for sale in the Hibulb Cultural Center’s gift shop;
  • 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. – Storytelling by Kelly Moses and Ray Moses;
  • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. – Chainsaw carving by Cy Williams and Tim Williams;
  • 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. – Coast Salish painting by James Madison;
  • 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. – Play by Red Eagle Soaring Youth Theatre.

It is so easy to forget how connected we all are to our natural environment, how it nourishes our bodies, spirits, and minds. Remember and reconnect by visiting the Hibulb Cultural Center & Natural History Preserve.

Where: 6410 23rd Avenue NE, Tulalip, WA
Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Saturday – Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.; closed Mondays
Anniversary Celebration Weekend Hours: Friday, August 17 – Sunday, August 19, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.;
First Thursday of every month: Free – and open until 8:00 p.m.!
Free guided tours are available every Wednesday from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

For additional information, call 360.716.2600, e-mail [email protected], or visit HibulbCulturalCenter.org.

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