MyHydaburg.org

Clarence Peele Jr., of the Raven Dog Salmon clan, was just a child when he began carving into the wood of the famous red and yellow cedars – something propelled by his natural ability, and highly sharpened in his adult life. “In early grade school, I would watch my dad carve,” and before long, Peele was carving well into the night. “My parents would have to chase me to bed,” he laughs before adding, “I’ve been carving my whole life.” Peele has recently been given the humbling and distinguished title of “master carver,” one only given by others who recognize an artist’s quality of work. Peele is now one of five master artists of the Hydaburg community’s much-celebrated Totem Replication Project. Ten salaried artists worked on the first phase of a plan to replicate all 26 of the century-old totem poles standing in Hydaburg’s totem park. With 22 of the 26 totems yet to be carved, Peele says he would be honored to remain involved.

Woven Work

Tapping into the spirit of revitalization, the Totem Replication Project is giving rise to a new level of collaboration among people of all ages – from master artist, to volunteer.  As a person who has devoted many years of service in Hydaburg as the water plant operator, and now as maintenance crew of the local health clinic, Peele is eager to recognize the collaborative efforts of the community. “When the carvers are down there, the town’s people bring down food for them to eat. They’re working together. The town is working together on this project… I don’t ever remember anything like that happening before. [Hydaburg Cooperative Association] HCA should be commended for what they’re doing now. They’re bringing community together.”

Carving

The Project represents the fruition of a community vision, one nested in a community that works to continue the legacy of Haida cedar weavers and carvers. In Hydaburg, any given person falls somewhere on the spectrum from learning to mastering carving or weaving. Peele has mastered both, although he seems reluctant to consider himself a master weaver, as many in the community does. After taking a class with renowned master weaver Delores Churchill, Peele can expertly weave red and yellow cedar bark into hats, baskets, and latticework over bottles. And he is very pleased with the result. “I’ve always wanted a cedar bark hat,” says Peele, whose intricate pieces are stunning. He even combines his two fine-tuned skills by carving and painting figures of animal crests (see the raven hat in pictures above) to attach to his tightly woven hats, a practice that is rarely seen these days. Otherwise, he sketches carefully mapped formline designs around his hats before hand-painting in the lines with hobby paint.

The process is lengthy, and weaving and painting the bark are only the last stages. It takes a great amount of time and effort to gather and prepare the cedar bark to be woven. But Peele enjoys the tedious process. “It’s hard to find good bark – you have to do a lot of footwork in the forest. But that’s about the best part. It’s nice and quiet.” The majority of the people in Hydaburg practice this artisanal task, and Peele is always ready to teach those who want to tag along and learn.

Believing the Replication Project “will be a real shot in the arm for the town,” Peele says, “Since [it] has started, everybody’s been on the wagon, excited about it…” As for his community’s future, Peele supports the town’s idea to expand or move the local carving shed, turning it into a multipurpose building for future projects. The new expansion would continue to provide a space for people to learn how to carve, but also create a place for exhibiting displays of traditional artwork – for the community, and for facilitated tours. Peele also envisions the formation of a local artist council to operate and promote the carving shed. The council would bring all the artists together to exchange ideas to collectively benefit a community brimming with talented artists – something befitting of people who often come together to fulfill a common goal.

Interview by Sealaska interns Crystal Rogers & Rachel Bryan-Auker; text by Crystal Rogers;
Photos by Rachel Bryan-Auker and Crystal Rogers