Remembering a legend: Jerry Jones, master carver

By Wade Sheldon; photos courtesy of Linda Smith

In the serene embrace of Tulalip Bay, the legacy of Tulalip tribal member Jerry Jones, a master carver, teacher, and king of home runs, is revealed with time and grace. Since his passing in 2003, the echoes of his artistic brilliance, passionate instruction, and unwavering commitment to the cultural tapestry of the Tulalip Tribes continue to resonate.

Jerry Jones, a luminary figure in the heart of Tulalip, carved more than just wood; he cut a legacy that embraced the essence of his people. His skilled hands breathed life into the timber, creating masterpieces that became living artifacts of cultural heritage. The classrooms under his guidance transformed into sanctuaries of wisdom, where the art of carving transcended mere technique, delving into the spiritual and historical dimensions embedded in each creation.

In an article by Cathy Logg titled “Tulalip Master Carver Dies at 62,” published in The Everett Herald on November 19, 2003, the author recounts the significance of Jerry Jones within the Tulalip community. Logg notes that in 1984, as Washington tribes geared up for the state centennial in 1989, a group of Indian tribes orchestrated the “Paddle to Seattle” to revive interest in ocean canoes and their traditional journeys. The article reflects on Jerry Jones’ pivotal role in leading this effort and highlights his contributions as a master carver and teacher within the Tulalip Tribes.

Guiding the efforts to create the tribe’s two canoes, Big Sister and Lil’ Sis, and constructing a third from cedar strips, Jerry Jones left an indelible mark on the Salish Sea. The lines of these canoes, crafted with precision and beauty, became a testament to Jerry’s artistry. His role expanded beyond a mere craftsman; he became a teacher, sharing not only the technicalities of carving, but also the cultural significance embedded in every stroke of the carving knife.

In the summer of ‘69, the Tulalip Chiefs, a championship baseball team led by Tulalip tribal member Cy Fryberg, featured the remarkable presence of Jerry Jones, known as the Babe Ruth of Indian Baseball. With Jerry Jones among their standout players, the Chiefs secured victories at Native tournaments, earning a spot in the final tournament in Tacoma. Overcoming challenges, the Chiefs emerged triumphant in the championship game.

Beyond Tulalip, Jerry Jones traveled the Northwest, lending his expertise to other tribal carvers working on their canoes. His craftsmanship became renowned from Oregon to Canada, and his legacy as a teacher and mentor expanded with each journey. Whether it was hats, baskets, drums, wooden paddles, masks, bowls, or totem poles, Jerry Jones left a lasting imprint on the artistic landscape, enriching the cultural heritage of the Tulalip Tribes.

“He worked for the Tulalip tribes for several years. He was in the military and was tasked with being the lead carver on the canoes for Paddle to Seattle,” said Linda Smith, younger sister to Jerry Jones. “Because my brother was always willing to share, he would teach other tribes how to carve canoes. Recently, the Suquamish tribe honored him this year during the canoe journey for helping teach their carvers. I want people to know how sharing he was.”

Linda continued, “In the summers, he would have youth assigned to him at the carving shed. He would also participate in culture nights and share his knowledge and the stories he had learned in his life. He contributed a lot to Tulalip and other tribes, and when he had students learning from him, he expected a lot from them. Sometimes, we need that discipline; we must do our best. It’s something he believed.” 

Jerry Jones, who shared his artistry, wisdom, and discipline, will forever be remembered for his contributions to preserving indigenous traditions and nurturing generations to come. In the embrace of Tulalip Bay, his spirit lives on, an enduring beacon guiding the canoe of tradition into the limitless waters of the future.

Haida Master Carver and Students Restoring Ocean-Going Canoe

Richard WalkerSaaduuts Peele, a Haida master carver, instructs Gabriel Port, a Samish Nation descendant, on a finer point of canoe carving on October 23, 2010, at the Center for Wooden Boats in Lake Union, Seattle. Saaduuts is resident carver at the center, and has carved two canoes with the assistance of local students.
Richard Walker
Saaduuts Peele, a Haida master carver, instructs Gabriel Port, a Samish Nation descendant, on a finer point of canoe carving on October 23, 2010, at the Center for Wooden Boats in Lake Union, Seattle. Saaduuts is resident carver at the center, and has carved two canoes with the assistance of local students.

 

Richard Walker, 7/14/14, Indian Country Today

Haida master carver Saaduuts Peele was a guest at Pinehurst K-8 School in Seattle, Washington on June 18 for the school’s final graduation ceremony—the school will soon be torn down to make way for a new school.

Peele and Pinehurst students carved a 40-foot ocean-going canoe, Ocean Spirit, in 2003-04 and gifted the canoe to the Native community of Hydaburg, Alaska in a potlatch in April 2004. The canoe was returned to Seattle on June 18.

Saaduuts, resident carver at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, is doing some repairs to the canoe at the center. Once repairs are completed, the canoe will return to Hydaburg.

 

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/14/haida-master-carver-and-students-restoring-ocean-going-canoe-155826

Tlingit Master Carver creates totem pole for Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Darrell Sapp/Post-GazetteTommy Joseph, a member of the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska, uses a reverse bent knife to carve a 16-foot totem pole that will be permanently installed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Tommy Joseph, a member of the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska, uses a reverse bent knife to carve a 16-foot totem pole that will be permanently installed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

December 10, 2013

By Mary Thomas / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The story of a raven, two fishermen and a salmon was emerging from the trunk of a Washington red cedar last week under the skilled hands of master carver Tommy Joseph. Today, he will complete the carving and on Saturday a public “Celebration of the Raising of the Totem Pole” will be held as it’s installed permanently in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Mr. Joseph, a member of the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska, was born in Ketchikan and lives in Sitka. He began carving the totem pole, which was commissioned by the museum, on Nov. 26 in the R. P. Simmons Gallery, where he will be until 5 p.m. today.

Darrell Sapp/Post-GazetteTommy Joseph, a member of the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska, talks about his totem pole sculpture.
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Tommy Joseph, a member of the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska, talks about his totem pole sculpture.

The totem will be unveiled this weekend at the entrance of Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life and the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians. The all-ages event will begin at 10:30 a.m. with Tlingit song and drumming by musician Morgan Redmon Fawcett. Following the celebration, Mr. Fawcett will play Native American flute, and guided tours of Alcoa Hall and other activities will be offered (included in museum admission).

The 16-foot tall totem pole is a blend of traditional and contemporary practices. The formal qualities of the bold stylized components, and the fact that they memorialize a story told by a Tlingit elder, are timeless. Mr. Joseph carves with hand tools that would have been recognizable generations ago, including an adz, gouges and knives, some of which he made. However, the vivid paints are latex.

When the museum commissioned the totem pole, it requested a story that included a raven but was otherwise unrestricted. That gave Mr. Joseph, 49, an opportunity to fulfill a project that had been on his mind for three decades.

“They told me I could pick any story. This story has never been told before. When I first heard it, I wanted to tell it,” Mr. Joseph said last week.

The description he gave the museum was of two young men on a hunting trip:

“While out on the open ocean with a storm approaching, a young man spotted a large seal and fired at it. He was happy to see that his aim was true, and he piloted his boat over to haul in his catch. The young man grabbed the seal by its tail, but it began to thrash about. So as not to lose it to the ocean waves and the approaching storm, he bit down on the tail, gripping hard between his teeth while grabbing the seal’s flippers with his strong hands and arms.

“In a boat not far away, the young man’s hunting partner and Clan brother was watching this entire scene unfold. He fired a shot into the seal, saving the catch. The hunt was a big success, and both men were able to bring food home to their families, along with an adventure story that would live on for generations to come.”

But there’s more, a personal connection. The men in the boats were Mr. Joseph’s father and the elder who related the story in the mid-1980s. Mr. Joseph’s father was lost at sea when he was 6.

“The museum wanted a traditional raven story,” Mr. Joseph said. “But what is a traditional raven story? It’s a story an elder told. Raven is my Dad’s moiety [descent group].” Mr. Joseph is of the Eagle Moiety.

The raven, at the bottom of the totem pole, appears in Tlingit legends, myths and creation stories. The middle figures are the hunters in dugout canoes. The top figure, a dog-salmon, completes the circle of life, the seal eating the salmon and the people, the seal.

Darrell Sapp/Post-GazetteOne of the painted "trappings" on the Raven portion of the totem pole Tommy Joseph has been commissioned to carve for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
One of the painted “trappings” on the Raven portion of the totem pole Tommy Joseph has been commissioned to carve for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

“Alaskan natives still eat seals today,” Mr. Joseph said. “They’re part of our subsistence lifestyle.

“A totem pole is a visual tool for telling a story,” he explained. “The whole purpose is to be a reminder of the story. [Subjects include] migration, individuals, groups of people, events, history, clan history; grave markers, mortuary poles that memorialize people.”

Mr. Joseph first became infatuated with wood when he made a halibut hook out of yellow cedar in a third-grade woodcarving class. His art includes Tlingit armor, masks and bowls in addition to totem poles. He sells them at his Raindance Gallery in Sitka along with work by other Alaskan native artists.

Funded by a Smithsonian visual artist grant and a USA Artist Fellows award, he traveled to 20 museums and collections in the U.S. and abroad in 2009 to study Tlingit armor. The Alaska State Museum, Juneau, presented the first exhibition of Mr. Joseph’s armor this year. In July, he gave a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk on constructing Tlingit armor.

At his gallery, he teaches carving in affiliation with the University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus. “I always hope there’s going to be some of our young people who will be interested. But to keep [the tradition] going, I’ll teach anybody of any age who wants to know, as long as they’re old enough to work safely.”

TotemPoleMag07-1
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Tommy Joseph works on the details of his totem pole.

For 21 years he ran the wood studio of the Sitka National Historical Park’s Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center. While there he observed leading wood conservators from the National Park Service and now he conserves, restores and replicates totem poles for the Park Service and other institutions and individuals.

“It’s a huge honor for me that [this totem pole] will be in the Carnegie Museum forever,” Mr. Joseph said. “I have the coolest job around. I get to go to work every day and make stuff, and share it with everybody.”

Tlingit artifacts including baskets, halibut hooks and objects relating to the totem pole creation process may be seen in the Simmons Gallery today through Friday. Information: 412-622-3131 or www.carnegiemnh.org.

Post-Gazette art critic Mary Thomas: mthomas@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1925.