S Klallam Quotes

“No one taught me to be Native American. My mother taught me that I was, but she did not have the context for what that heritage meant. My grandmother mentioned it very little, even though it was visible in her features. Yet from my earliest memories, being Native has always been an integral part of my identity. Even though I was raised far from my tribe, far from any tribe, I heard the drumbeat of our traditions in my heart. My name is Leah Kallen Myers. I am the last member of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in my family line.”
― Leah Myers, Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity

“I thought about how my idols growing up were not real Native women but instead cartoon caricatures that Disney made in the form of Tiger Lily and Pocahontas.”
― Leah Myers, Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity

“The S'Klallam people were around long before European colonizers came to the coast. In our earliest told histories, we moved from village to village in our territory, keeping pace with the seasons. We hunted game and thrived from the fish and shellfish we harvested off of the coast. The crafters among us found strength in cedar. Strips of it were woven into baskets and hats, and the trees themselves were carved into canoes and masks. Cedar was chosen in part for its abundance but also for its connection with the spiritual world, and its longevity. The things made then were meant to stand the test of time.”
― Leah Myers, Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity