For the better part of the last 20 years, Western Washington University environmental science professor Marco Hatch has had his hands in the muddy shores of the Pacific Northwest and Canada, digging for clams. Specifically, Hatch has dedicated his life’s work to clam gardens and the cultural importance to the Indigenous people of the region. For centuries, they would place heavy rocks at the low tide line to build a short wall. The high tide would deposit sediment, creating the ideal habitat for clams to grow and thrive, and for other small marine species, like crabs and young fish, to find safe harbor. They managed and harvested the gardens, before colonization. Hatch, a member of the Samish Indian Nation, said the remnants of sea gardens can be found up and down the coast, from Washington to Alaska.
Native American fashion aims to reclaim its culture with authentic design. Reclamation, resurgence and resilience are all ways to describe what’s happening with Native American fashion and art as it becomes more visible. An Ojibwe artist Adrienne Benjamin is part of a growing resurgence and helping to create authentic designs and is working with one non-native company to help reconcile past wrongs. Benjamin learned how to make jingle dresses when she was young and says her ribbon skirts and other looks are not just for pow wows anymore, mainstream America is adopting some of the American Indian design work.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
