PORT ANGELES — Harvest Moon — a Quinault ambassador, master basket weaver, historian and storyteller — will be the featured speaker at the Studium Generale lecture series today.
Moon will speak from 12:35 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. in the Little Theater at Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles. The presentation is free to the public.
At 2 p.m., Moon will facilitate a 2½-hour beginner’s cedar bark basket weaving workshop in the lower Pirate Union Building on campus.
During her Studium Generale lecture, Moon will share her knowledge of the cedar tree — discussing how each part of the tree is used in basket weaving and its significance to the past, present and future of Coast Salish tradition.
Over more than 30 years of harvesting, preparing materials and weaving, Moon has learned that each basket created is an expression of the weaver, organizers say.
Her presentation will be enhanced with examples of her baskets.
She also will talk about the rituals and songs sung when gathering materials and will close her presentation with storytelling.
Space is limited for the workshop. Spots must be reserved.
A minimum contribution of $25 per participant to the Peninsula College Foundation will support the programming.
Peninsula College students are eligible for sponsorship.
For more information or to register, contact the Peninsula College Longhouse at 360-417-7992 or longhouse@pencol.edu.
Moon was born in the middle of the night under a full moon.
“Like most babies, I decided to come into this world during the middle of the night, and it happened to be a night when there was a full moon,” Moon said in an interview with Wisdom of the Elders Inc., which records oral history from indigenous elders.
“My great-grandfather realized my name would be ‘With the Moon,’ ” she said.
“He then also noticed that my tribe, which is the Quinault tribe, had just finished harvesting a large amount of salmon from the Quinault River, and it was then that he realized that my name would be Harvest Moon.”
In her teens, Moon said, she went on a vision quest to find the true meaning of her name.
Storyteller’s name
She learned it means “a light shining forth in the midst of darkness,” she said, adding it is an appropriate moniker for a storyteller.
“Storytelling has always been a part of folk life regardless of nation, race or creed,” she said.
“In fact, stories and legends have served as the history books of mankind for thousands of years.
“It was not different in the tribal cultures of the Pacific Northwest.”
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
