Yakama Nation cradleboards, native stone and shell tools and jewelry, and the matachina ritual dance will be shared from master to student through a program that preserves cultural traditions important to Washington communities.
Janice Anne Whitefoot and Alexandria Whitefoot of Harrah, Jim Baugh and Klairyssa Aronica of Ellensburg and Zillah resident Pedro Meza Madera have been selected to participate in the 2022-23 Washington State Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program. Madera is paired with Pedro Jr. Mezo Avila from Seattle, according to a press release from Humanities Washington.
They are among 16 partnerships of artists and craftsmen selected for the 2022-23 program.
Created to encourage people to learn a traditional trade, craft or skill, the program is a partnership between Humanities Washington and the Washington State Commission on the Arts. Participants can teach or study music, fine arts, professional arts, dance, culinary traditions, storytelling and other verbal arts, and more.
A qualified and experienced master artist mentors the trainee, spending at least 100 hours individually during the program year. Master artists teach the skills associated with a tradition in their community, preserving that tradition and allowing it to thrive in the future.
The program culminates in a free event to introduce the public to these unique cultural traditions.
“Because these practices are often learned informally in a one-on-one setting, there is a danger that they will be lost,” said Langston Collin Wilkins, director of the Washington Center for Cultural Traditions. The center is housed at Humanities Washington and oversees the apprenticeship program.
“This program helps ensure that not only do a new generation of folk and traditional artists preserve their crafts, but they also get ways to connect with their history and community,” Wilkins said.
