Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon by Melody Carlson

Author:Melody Carlson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon
ISBN: 9781935416845
Publisher: Guideposts
Published: 2011-04-01T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Sunny parked her car in front of the stucco building at Saint Andrew’s Mission, then got out and walked around to look at the architecture. The building appeared to be fairly old and in some disrepair, but the marker by one of the front entrances was dated 1931.

“Hello?” called a woman’s voice. “Are you here for the moccasin class?”

Sunny turned to see an older woman waving from the side of the building. “Mostly I just wanted to look around Crow’s Shadow. I heard there’s a good print exhibit to see.”

“Come this way,” the woman called as she disappeared around the back side of the building.

Sunny walked on around to where several cars were parked in back. An open door led into what appeared to be a gallery with pale hardwood floors and white walls, where a number of attractive Native prints were displayed.

“The class is back here,” the woman called as she went into another room. “Come on in if you like.”

Sunny thanked her, then took some time to examine the prints. Again, she got that feeling—like she was connecting to this artwork in a way that was unexplainable but very real. She studied the names of the artists, but none of them sounded familiar. Finally, lured by the quiet voices of women, she went into what looked like a craft room to see five older women intently working with leather and beads.

“Are you here for the class?” a different woman asked.

“No, she’s just looking at the prints,” the first woman answered for her.

“You don’t want to make moccasins?” another woman asked. “She’s not here for that.”

Sunny came closer to the first woman now, looking over her shoulder as she laid out some cut pieces of leather with beadwork on them. “That’s very pretty,” she said as she studied the flower design. “I have a really old buckskin jacket with some interesting beadwork on it.”

“Was it in your family?”

“I believe so. I’m not totally sure. But I do think it’s quite old. Maybe even a hundred years old.”

The oldest woman nodded with interest. “You don’t look familiar. Are you new?”

Sunny introduced herself, explaining that this was her first time to visit the reservation. “But my grandmother was born here. She left back in the thirties.”

“My mother left back in the thirties too,” the oldest woman said. “Left me with my aunt. She raised me.”

“What was your mother’s name?” another woman asked.

“Polly Wikiapi Blue Crow.”

And although none of them were old enough to know her, they were soon telling her about other people somehow connected with the Blue Crow family and how they were either friends or relatives. “I think my cousin’s daughter married a Blue Crow…unless it was a Yellow Crow, but he turned out to be no good. Left her with three little kids.”

“You mean Tulip?” another said with a creased brow. “My daughter can’t stand that woman. You know Tulip is Walla Walla. Mimi told me Tulip would drive any man to run off.”

“So does everyone know everyone on the reservation?” Sunny asked.

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