Blyn historian is celebrated in PT exhibit

S’Klallam chronicler inspires historical novel ‘Dungeness’

By Patricia Coate • February 2, 2016 12:45 pm
Karen Polinsky wrote her book “Dungeness” in the voice of a young S’Klallam woman. Bainbridge artist Cara Thompson designed the cover of “Dungeness” and also illustrated the novel.
Karen Polinsky wrote her book “Dungeness” in the voice of a young S’Klallam woman. Bainbridge artist Cara Thompson designed the cover of “Dungeness” and also illustrated the novel.

“To Shine a Light on Something” Exhibit — Feb. 4-28

Northwind Arts Center, 701 Water St., Port Townsend

Special events:

• Thursday, Feb. 4, poetry readings by Robert Hoffman and Paul Nelson

• Saturday, Feb. 6, opening reception 5:30-8 p.m.

• Sunday, Feb. 7, art talk 1 p.m.

• Thursday, Feb. 25, Women Writers on Coast Salish Past: Llyn De Danaan, Sherry Lou Macgregor and Karen Polinsky

Other S’Klallam artists featured are Joe Ives and Jimmy Price.Sponsors: Nordwind Arts Center, Jefferson County Historical Society, Port Gamble & Jamestown S’Klallam Tribes, Port Madison Suquamish Tribe, Kite & Nail Exhibition Design and Cultural Arts Foundation Northwest.

 

 

Through February at the Northwind Arts Center in Port Townsend, S’Klallam artists from Port Angeles to Port Gamble celebrate the life, times and heritage of one of their history’s chroniclers, Mary Ann Lambert, with their non-native artistic brethren in an exhibit entitled “To Shine a Light on Something.”

Karen Polinsky, the author of “Dungeness,” a fictionalized account of Lambert’s life growing up S’Klallam and Swedish in the late 19th century along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, was fascinated by journals written by Lambert, who lived from 1879-1966.

Polinsky was a freelancer for the Bremerton Sun about 20 years ago when she came across what she calls a “primary document” from the S’Klallam, a book called “Shadows of Our Ancestors,” and in it Lambert’s stories from eyewitness accounts.

“I became a fan of Mary Ann because what she did seemed really significant to me. She told stories from the native viewpoint about key events from the Olympic Peninsula — most had been told from the white point of view — so basically she was the only source on the S’Klallam from that time,” Polinsky, of Bainbridge Island, said.

Lambert’s father was a Swedish mariner turned farmer who married her 15-year-old S’Klallam mother when he was in his mid-50s.

“She really had one foot in each world but felt great pride in her Native American heritage. She was a broadminded, very curious and bright person,” Polinsky said. “She was born in Blyn, lived in Port Townsend as a child and then lived in Blyn most of her life. She really tried to document the changing times for the S’Klallam tribe — for example, disease really decimated the culture. By the mid-19th century, probably 80 percent had died. The Point No Point Treaty (1855) was devastating by the 1870s because the tribe lost its fishing and hunting rights,” Polinsky noted.

Regarding “Dungeness,” which centers around a preteen mixed heritage girl named Millie Langlie, the author said, “I fictionalized Mary Ann’s life so I could tell more of the cultural history of the area, so that I could invent a life in Millie’s voice and weave the narrative in and out of her life,” Polinsky explained. “I also respected her family and I wanted to make a dividing line between a fictional girl and not to pretend I could capture the consciousness of Mary Ann. Her family gets it — that it’s a tribute to her.”

The Jefferson County Historical Society also will have a strong presence in the exhibit, with scores of artifacts and historical photographs. Three of Lambert’s descendants are artists featured in the exhibit: Sherry Lou Macgregor, a writer; Patrick Maher, a silversmith; and Cathy MacGregor, a basket weaver.

During her lifetime, Lambert wrote “The 7 Brothers of the House of Ste-tee-thium” and “The Dungeness Massacre,” an account of the actual event that occurred in 1868 on Dungeness Spit.

The late 19th century, along Sequim and Discovery bays, was “a really formative time in the communities’ history and it’s cool doing an exhibit because people (artists/organizers) did grow to understand each other. It’s the first time the Jefferson County Historical Society has collaborated with the Jamestown and Port Gamble S’Klallam,” Polinsky said.

“Dungeness” also pays homage to the S’Klallam culture from its cover design, to its artwork and historical photos, to words in the S’Klallam language scattered throughout. Bainbridge Island artist Cara Thompson created the book’s design and illustrations.

The novel, published in 2015, is available at the Northwind Art Gallery, 701 Water St., Port Townsend; and at www.dungenessbook.com.