Valerie Calac
Yakama beadwork artist and basket maker
White Swan, WA
The craft of weaving coiled baskets is part of master artist Valerie Calac’s
Klickitat heritage, which only a few have carried on. Calac learned her weaving
from the renowned Klickitat basket weaver Nettie Jackson, who encouraged Calac to
sustain their common tradition by teaching it to others. As a recipient of a 1995
Apprenticeship grant, Calac taught Vicki Swan to weave coiled baskets. Calac
focused her teaching to finding places for gathering the cedar roots and beargrass
used to weave baskets, how to determine whether materials are usable, preparing
and dyeing materials, basket design, and basket weaving. Calac and Swan both
completed their own baskets for this project.
Apprentice Swan, a close relative of Calac’s, follows the laws of her culture carefully,
and values her heritage. She watched her mother weave baskets years ago, but no longer has
this opportunity since her mother’s illness and poor health have prevented her from
gathering the materials necessary to weave baskets. Swan grew up listening to stories
about baskets that belong to other family members; each basket in her family has a
specific history associated with it. Swan’s goal is to become proficient at basket
weaving herself, so that she can teach her daughters.