LaPUSH — A Quileute basket weaver will remember U.S. Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks every time she weaves a basket.
Melissa Woodruff-Burnside of LaPush told the Peninsula Daily News in an e-mail that Fairbanks and her husband, Brian, helped the Quileute and Hoh tribes get a supply of bear grass for basket weaving.
Burnside recalled a conversation she and her husband had with Fish and Wildlife Officer Brian Fairbanks on the banks of the Bogachiel River.
“I learned that his wife sometimes came across illegally harvested grasses that could be used for weaving. I had never heard of anything like it,” Burnside wrote.
“As times change, the Indian gatherers for the elders are getting scarce, but the materials are now being over-harvested, so I asked Brian if he could mention to his wife that the Quileute and Hoh weavers would appreciate an opportunity to receive such materials.
“We are trying to revive the ancient art of weaving within the tribes.
“He said he would let her know.
“A few months had passed, and I soon forgot about the talk that day on the banks of the Bogachiel.
“In my evening weaving, I was scouring for the last remnants of bear grass in my supply.
“Knowing I would soon need to gather for myself and the elders, I reflected on the laborious duty it would be this year.
“As my children become teenagers, they are less interested in traditional family outings and have a busy schedule of their own.”
Dreading the work facing her and her husband, Burnside lit a candle and prayed.
“I got a response that I never imagined and I personally have never witnessed in my life.
“You know, I thought that something along the lines of my kids’ plans would change, or a friend or family would decide to go gather, but no; I got a message that an illegally harvested truckload of bear grass had been confiscated by the Forest Service and as a result, donated to our tribes for the weavers to utilize.
“I don’t believe I had ever seen that much bear grass at one time, nonetheless gifted to each and every basket weaver.
“That is how I will forever remember the Fairbanks family and their concern for their community.
“I am now using this supply of bear grass in my basketry, and as long as I use it, Kristine’s memory will be woven into each and every basket that comes to life.”
