Native dance, art to fill Jefferson County Library during programs set to start today
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, September 23, 2015
PORT HADLOCK — The Git-Hoan Dancers, members of the Tsimshian, Haida and Tlingit tribes of southeast Alaska, will bring their music and motion to the Jefferson County Library for a free, public program this evening.
“Git-Hoan is truly amazing to see,” said library spokeswoman Brywn Griffin, adding that the group’s carved masks and songs make their performances a thrill.
Git-Hoan (pronounced “get hone”) will perform at 7 p.m. today at the library, 620 Cedar Ave.
Led by Tsimshian carver and culture bearer David Boxley, Git-Hoan’s members live in the Seattle area.
The group started in 1996, then reformed in 2002 to become one of the top native dance groups on the coast, Griffin said.
The dancers’ appearance is part of the month-long celebration of Native American people at the Jefferson County Library.
On Sept. 28, local residents are invited to a discussion of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the National Book Award winner by Sherman Alexie, who grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Readers can sign up for this get-together and check out a copy of Absolutely by stopping by the library or phoning 360-385-6544. Participants are asked to read the whole book before the discussion.
Totem pole carvers
Wrapping up the month will be a program by Blyn’s House of Myths carvers — Dale Faulstich, Bud Turner and Dusty Humphries — on Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m.
In their 90-minute program “Totem Poles: Step by Step,” the three will talk about turning a green log into a multifaceted work of art.
The carvers also will show related masks, boxes, bowls, ceremonial objects and the tools of their trade.
Faulstich, a non-Native designer and lead carver, is involved in ongoing projects and classes with the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, and has created the totem poles outside 7 Cedars Casino, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center and other Sequim locations.
He works with Turner at the Jamestown tribe’s House of Myths art department.
Humphries, a Jamestown tribal member through the Collier family, began volunteering five years ago with Jeff Monsoon, designer and carver of the Welcome Figure at the Peninsula College Longhouse in Port Angeles. In 2011 the tribe hired him as an apprentice.
For information about these and other free events at the library, see www.jclibrary.info.
