{"id":11831,"date":"2020-09-26T12:11:38","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T16:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=11831"},"modified":"2020-10-01T11:34:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T15:34:25","slug":"tlaamin-weaving-continues-during-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/tlaamin-weaving-continues-during-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Tla’amin weaving continues during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Odette Auger<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney is an\u00a0Indigenous<\/a>\u00a0woman, artist, mom, wife. She\u2019s also a very talented\u00a0Tla\u2019amin<\/a>\u00a0weaver. Sosan came to\u00a0Klahoose<\/a>\u00a0to teach weaving workshops before\u00a0COVID-19<\/a> interrupted. In this story we\u2019ll catch up with Sosan and what she\u2019s been doing during COVID-19.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Tla'amin<\/a>

L-R: Gail Blaney, Elsie Paul. Photo Credit: Sosan Blaney.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Cultural resource library coordinator\u2019\u2019<\/h2>\n

Odette: Hi, Sosan. You\u2019re a talented artist and weaver. Can you tell me about your work life also though? Tell me about your work in the schools.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: So my official job\u2026is cultural resource library coordinator at the Tla\u2019amin Child Development Resource Center<\/a>. Sounds pretty fancy. I just run the cultural programming through the daycare. And I do a lot of outreach with the schools. I was mandated to work with ages zero to six. So it was a lot of early childhood education for the past\u2026 Oh, I guess seven or eight years now. But it\u2019s recently changed to a more broader age group, which was nice because then I can branch out to older groups. And so I do that part time. And then I do a lot of work with the school district and different programming.<\/p>\n

We have some wonderful programming, School District 47 at the Outdoor Learning Center that we have here. So the weaving and wild crafting program that I\u2019ve been doing for\u2026 I don\u2019t even know how many years now, where kids come in and they learn about some wild crafting at the Outdoor Learning Center. We do some rope and learn about plant dyes and plant medicines and stuff like that and do a little bit of harvesting. So it\u2019s a really wonderful program. And then we had another one that was planned to start in spring time called the\u2026 Original Orchestra which is about finding music and nature. And it was really kind of based in Tla\u2019amin teaching.<\/p>\n

But of course that was canceled. It was going to be our first year this year, but that didn\u2019t happen. Hopefully that can get up and running again when things are a little bit more back to normal.<\/p>\n

Of course I do a lot of work for myself and just make baskets and hats and bead work and stuff like that.<\/p>\n

Workshops at Klahoose<\/h2>\n

Odette: Tell me about the workshops you were teaching at Klahoose before COVID. Are they small groups and what age range?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: I\u2019ve taught so many workshops at Klahoose over the past few years, and they\u2019ve ranged from groups of eight to much larger than that. I think our highest total was 19 or something. 19 have stayed on a weekend. Something like that. So it kind of ranged. Everybody\u2019s always been super interested and super welcoming to me come there. I love going to Klahoose to teach weaving workshops. It feels like my second home over there. The hospitality of our relatives over in Klahoose is just\u2026 it\u2019s so good and so amazing. I love going there. I was supposed to teach a workshop there over spring break. I think it was the last weekend of spring break this year. And once again that got canceled due to COVID-19, which is unfortunate.<\/p>\n

How old are your students?<\/h2>\n

Odette: Just circling back to that. What are the age range? Do you have youth there? Do you have elders?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: It\u2019s always been a mix of ages. I\u2019m trying to think of how old Royce was when he wove his first hat with us. I think he was\u2026 The first year they moved there\u2026I feel like he was ten. Maybe?<\/p>\n

Odette: I tutored him that year. I think he was ten.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: Yeah. So he was probably the youngest that has made a hat. I\u2019ve done little things with some of the kids in there. They\u2019re there a couple of times. They just love stuff like that. And then all the way up to the elders of the community would come out to weave. It\u2019s really been all ages. And I really liked that. I\u2019ve been bringing my kids over there to teach weaving workshops. And they were really little. I was just looking at some pictures from a workshop when Mekwan was a baby and my mom was there with me because she often comes too. It\u2019s kind of a family affair and she\u2019s wearing Mekwan in a baby carrier, helping me teach a weaving workshop. And other people bring their kids too. It\u2019s a really good sense of community.<\/p>\n

How did it all begin?<\/h2>\n

Odette: So when you started going, had everyone in the room weaved before or is it mixed levels or sometimes are your classes an introduction?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: I\u2019m trying to think. That very first workshop was so many years ago\u2026 I think maybe there was a little bit of weaving experience, but often it\u2019s a mix of experience levels. Sometimes there\u2019ll be people who\u2019ve never woven anything before or have never woven a hat before. And then now there\u2019s quite a few very experienced members now over in Klahoose which is really exciting to see people who have really taken to the art form and spend their own time creating. And I really love seeing that and I love getting messages from people and saying, \u201cHey, this is what I\u2019m working on. Check it out\u201d, or if they need help maybe in edging, I really don\u2019t mind people messaging me to help figure that stuff as well. Yeah. So it\u2019s kind of a mix.<\/p>\n

Odette: Sounds beautiful. So, your numbers of the group, I heard that depends on if you have your co-teacher or help? And it\u2019s usually your mom. Did she teach you or did you learn together? Tell me about how that started.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: My mom. One of the reasons I love my mom. She\u2019s always really indulged my need to create things. And so she, when I was a kid, did a couple intro to weaving courses and I\u2019m talking specifically cedar bark. And so she taught me how to make little bracelets and baskets and stuff. And then with the hats which is usually what I go over to Cortes to teach is the hat making. That, I kind of figured out with a few other people when we\u2019re at camp Au\u2019puk\u2019wum And I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re familiar with camp Au\u2019puk\u2019wum.<\/p>\n

So, camp Au\u2019puk\u2019wum\u00a0 is or was a camp that was held in Forbes Bay, which is a reserve for the Klahoose\u00a0 people. It\u2019s one of their\u2026 It\u2019s their territory.<\/p>\n

And it ran every year through my adolescence and youth. And there\u2019re so many fond memories of that plot and often it was a group Tla\u2019amin and Klahoose or sometimes Tla\u2019amin would be there first or Klahoose would be there first, for Tla\u2019amin to connect.<\/p>\n

And when I was 13, we wanted to weave hats. So we\u2026 I already knew how to weave bark baskets and stuff. We had some bark that we\u2019d harvested up in Forbes Bay and we made a hat mold out of those silver bowls, like a bread bowl. And cereal boxes and duct tape. And figured out how to weave from there. And then of course, since I\u2019ve learned from other weavers. Since then the local hat weaving, me and my mom have kind of learned together on that and with cedar bark and then we learned together to weave in roots when I was an even younger child.<\/p>\n

COVID-19<\/h2>\n

Odette: So COVID-19 affected your kid\u2019s school. So they\u2019ve been home with you since spring break. Did you weave alongside them or did you weave when they were asleep or busy doing other things?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: I\u2019ve been really trying to teach them more because it\u2019s really been, for me, weaving and beading and stuff like that\u2026 It\u2019s really been almost like a meditation time for me, like an active meditation where I can just sit and be and create. And oftentimes when you\u2019re teaching children, it can be a little bit frustrating. But I really, really want them to learn. Especially my daughter. She really has always been interested from the time an infant can show interest in some things. She\u2019s always been interested in helping me weave and there\u2019s so many pictures of her sitting on my lap, weaving with me and helping me prep bark. Maybe help in quotation marks.<\/p>\n

So since COVID-19 has happened and we\u2019ve really been at home doing a lot of home learning, I\u2019ve tried to make more of an effort to include them in the processing and some of the weaving as well. They\u2019ve always come to harvest with me though. The first time Menat\u2019they, my son, went harvesting with me\u2026 the oldest\u2026 he would have been maybe a month and a half old. Just tiny. On my chest as I was pulling bark until this year. He\u2019s graduated to using the tools to make the cuts from the tree and pulling the bark himself. So that\u2019s something that we\u2019ve worked up to now that he\u2019s nine. So he can use a knife and a little hatchet as well. And that was new this year for him.<\/p>\n

\"Harvesting<\/a>

Darin Blaney, with grandson Menat\u2019they Blaney, harvesting cedar. Photo Credit: Sosan Blaney<\/p><\/div>\n

Odette: So what about COVID and elders? For me, it\u2019s really raised awareness on protecting elders and language and culture that they are the keepers of. Were you able to continue weaving with elders at all?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: So, not really in the beginning. In the beginning, we really closed down and there wasn\u2019t a lot\u2026 I didn\u2019t even really do a lot with my parents through March and April. And then as things started to relax, it\u2019s more with my parents. I don\u2019t know if they would consider themselves elders. My dad\u2019s in his early sixties and my mom\u2019s late fifties. And then later on when things relaxed some more in July and August, weaving with my great aunt Elsie Paul , which was really nice to do.<\/p>\n

To be able to sit on her sundeck and get back to root weaving, which I hadn\u2019t done in years. It\u2019s a lot harder and it\u2019s a lot more work and it\u2019s a lot more time consuming to do the root weaving than it is to do the bark weaving. So being able to sit with Elsie and weave was such a treat this summer. And of course, now we\u2019re totally shut down again in a total lockdown. Not even a voluntary lock down, but an actual lockdown here at Solomon. Yeah, so I don\u2019t think that\u2019ll be happening again any time soon because we just want to protect our elders and our knowledge keepers. It\u2019s so important that we learn from them, but also at times like this we protect them.<\/p>\n

Odette: I\u2019ve been following the news and hoping for the best for your community.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: Yeah. It\u2019s scary times. It\u2019s hard not to be anxious or panic about it, but I think we\u2019ll\u2026 It\u2019s really amazing to see the community come together and be strong and provide for each other at this time. It\u2019s been really amazing to see.<\/p>\n

When do you weave?<\/h2>\n

Odette: So I was going to ask about when you were weaving on your lawn or when you\u2019re at the beach or you\u2019re even weaving when you go camping. And I imagine that would attract some attention and people joining in. Am I right?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: Yeah, it really does. I have a hard time keeping my\u2026 with idle hands. I tend to always have something going, some project going. And I have this one basket that I carry around with weaving supplies in it. And if I\u2019m going somewhere like a music festival or even on a ferry ride or planned a picnic or something, so then I\u2019ll usually take something just to work on. Whether that\u2019s a weaving or beading, I\u2019ll take my little beading kit with me because those are kind of the two portable things that I can bring with me. But it does attract attention and sometimes it\u2019s good engagement and sometimes it\u2019s just a little gawking, but mostly it\u2019s positive. And yep, people can join in sometimes but it kind of depends. There\u2019s relationships and reciprocal relationships.<\/p>\n

And sometimes you can form those quickly and sometimes it feels like there\u2019s less give and take there. And this summer when we met some people camping that I would consider friends now and we\u2019ve kept in touch with, and they joined in with some of our weaving. And with the kids, they did some weaving together and some sharing together. And boy, did those kids love sharing stories with each other. But it was really amazing to see. We got to weave and share traditional stories as well around the campfire. And yeah, that was good.<\/p>\n

Odette: I really like that. It sounds like because you are weaving and you are engaging in something traditional that the kids would connect on a different level than say if they\u2019re playing video games or even playing soccer or something.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: \u2013 Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah, and maybe it\u2019s because we\u2019re sitting and our hands are busy, they\u2026 How do I put this? The willingness to share their stories and what\u2019s on their mind and stuff like that seems to be easier for kids when they\u2019ve got something in their hands. And I\u2019ve noticed that in some of the school programming I do where sometimes we get like, \u201cOh, be careful with this class. This class is known to be a rowdy bunch of boys\u201d, but then you get them and you put some cedar bark in their hands and teach them how to make rope. And they are so focused and they\u2019re so calm and they\u2019re so into it. And they\u2019re willing to share parts of themselves with you through that connection. And it\u2019s really\u2026 When that magic happens in the school group, I really, really like it. It\u2019s a good feeling. It\u2019s an amazing kind of magic to see happen with some of those students.<\/p>\n

Where can people see your weaving?<\/h2>\n

Odette: That makes me smile. It\u2019s essential that we give our youth those opportunities. So I\u2019m curious where people can see your weaving recently or upcoming. Do you have any displays or stores? And I\u2019m curious about commissions. I know you do some commission work. Where would people contact you for that?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: I get asked this question a lot. You\u2019d think after how many years of weaving, I\u2019d have a better answer, but I don\u2019t really do that. I rarely put my stuff into stores and galleries. I think I\u2019ve only ever shown them once. I did once enter the Artique, which is an artist collective in Powell River, but mostly I just post it on Instagram and people buy from there. So, it\u2019s mostly just social media, sending it out\u2026 or I\u2019ll be sitting somewhere and I\u2019ve just finished weaving a hat and somebody will be like, \u201cHey, can I buy that?\u201d.<\/p>\n

Yeah, I haven\u2019t really taken it on as a full time job, or a full time gig for myself. It\u2019s more\u2026 I find joy in creating things and sending that out to people. And when I have put that pressure on myself to keep a commission or something like that, it\u2019s become less fun. So it\u2019s mostly just word of mouth and I will take the occasional commission if I\u2019m in the right head space. And I\u2019ll make up a bunch of stuff and I\u2019ll do a flash sale on Instagram or Facebook. And usually within 24 to 48 hours they sell out.<\/p>\n

Odette: I think that\u2019s a testament to your good energy that you\u2019re putting into your work, if it\u2019s just coming your way.\u00a0 So it sounds like you have an Instagram account that people could keep an eye on and just see what you\u2019re doing and see some of the beautiful work and also potentially catch one of your flash sales that come up from time to time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: Yeah. It\u2019s Sosannna with three N\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Odette: S-O-S-A-N-N-N-A on Instagram.<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan: I just recently posted a whole bunch of beaded earrings on there. I\u2019ll occasionally do a raffle because I understand something like a hat can be really expensive for people. So, I\u2019ll raffle one off. People can afford a $5 raffle ticket. Mostly just posting stuff on there.<\/p>\n

Odette: Okay. Well thank you for sharing this conversation with us and we\u2019d love to follow you [on IG] and catch up with you later after COVID[-19] passes by us. Maybe we can catch up with you at one of those Klahoose workshops again.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sosan Blaney: Yeah. I\u2019m hoping we can make up for the one that we had to cancel.<\/p>\n

E\u2019mote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Odette Auger Sosan Blaney is an\u00a0Indigenous\u00a0woman, artist, mom, wife. She\u2019s also a very talented\u00a0Tla\u2019amin\u00a0weaver. Sosan came to\u00a0Klahoose\u00a0to teach weaving workshops before\u00a0COVID-19 interrupted. In this story we\u2019ll catch up with Sosan and what she\u2019s been doing during COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":11835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[57],"tags":[1633,816,818],"radio":[252],"origine":[280,266,231],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11831"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11831"},{"taxonomy":"radio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/radio?post=11831"},{"taxonomy":"origine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/origine?post=11831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}