The goal of a new exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum is simple: to set the record straight after the Quileute Tribe’s international exposure in the vampire-themed “Twilight” books and films, in which tribal members are depicted as teen werewolves provoked into snarling fits of temper.

QUILEUTE RESERVATION, La Push, Clallam County

Wolves that once roamed the wild Olympics, the stories say, were the first Quileute ancestors, transfigured by Kwati, a shape shifter and transformer as old and familiar here as the mist that rolls in from the Pacific.

That creation story, and much more of the Quileute culture, will be shared in a new exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum beginning Saturday.

The goal of the exhibit is simple: It’s a chance for the tribe to set the record straight after its international exposure in the vampire-themed “Twilight” books and films, in which Quileute tribal members are depicted as teen werewolves provoked into snarling fits of temper.

The works are fiction, of course. And while some members of the tribe have taken their Hollywood persona mostly in good-humored stride, some elders at Quileute are not amused. At their urging, the tribal council passed a resolution authorizing Barbara Brotherton, curator of Native American art at SAM, to work with the tribe to create the exhibit, to show the world a bit of the real Quileute culture.

“We are a lot different from Hollywood, I’ll tell you that,” said Christian Penn, 81, known as “Jiggs” on the reservation. With his carved wooden staff, he recently presided with a quiet pride over the tribe’s weekly Wednesday drum-circle gathering at the Quileute community center, where comfort food and traditional song and dance are on offer to anyone.

“We are from the wolf clan, we carry it down from generation to generation, it lifts our spirit up, and it’s been with us for years and years,” Penn said.

But what about werewolves? “Twilight”? He had a ready answer: “I’ve got mixed feelings about that,” Penn said. “They got that vampire thing all mixed up with the wolf clan. No way!” And with a rap of his cane on the floor for emphasis, that was simply that.

A runaway sensation in the wider world, the “Twilight” saga has had little impact on some here. When asked about the movies and books, David Hudson, the tribe’s traditional chief, wrinkles his brow as if at a faraway noise.

“We live our culture here,” Hudson said. “We have our ocean, clams, smelt. Halibut. The woods are at our back door, with elk, cedar, bear and deer for our carving and regalia and our food. Our songs are our identity, and we can sing for hours and hours.”

Fog cruises in from the vast Pacific as he talks; the sea stacks and James Island just offshore ease in and out of view. Songs and drums boom out the door of the community center. Over at the downtown dock, tribal fishermen brought in so much halibut, they are giving it away.

“That is what we mean by rich,” Hudson says.

A first for the tribe

Tribal elders, teens and council members spent more than a year working with Brotherton to produce the exhibit, which is a first of its kind. It includes many art objects never before seen in public, even by tribal members themselves. Wolf headdresses, rattles, drums, ceremonial objects, historical photographs, videos and more offer a rare glimpse inside Quileute culture.

Working side by side with tribal members, Brotherton learned the meaning of the tribe’s wolf dance and secret societies, and the stories behind baskets, rattles, drums, and even children’s drawings of a wolf dance under way at Quileute in 1907, with members of the wolf society circling the central fire in a ceremonial house.

Three of the dancers wear blankets around their bodies to look like wolf skins, while others are decorated with branches from salal bushes and, Brotherton writes in her description of the drawing, probably blowing whistles to represent the voice of the spirit.

The Quileutes have an ancient and deep association with wolves, an animal whose toothy visage appears over and again in Quileute baskets, rattles, masks and carvings in the exhibit.

“It’s awesome that people are wanting to know who we are, because we have been here since the beginning of time,” said Ann Penn-Charles, known as “Miss Ann,” a drug-and-alcohol counselor on the reservation, which is home to about half the tribe’s approximately 850 members.

“A lot of elders are hurt because we were portrayed as werewolves, and they didn’t want us portrayed as these wild Indians, they want people to know we are not these crazy Indians that change into werewolves when we get mad. We settle our differences peacefully.

“Our council was getting a lot of flak from our elders, saying ‘Show them the real Quileute, not this Hollywood Quileute.’ ”

She is bemused by some of the “Twilight” tourists visiting the reservation.

“They didn’t think real Quileutes actually existed; they just thought somebody made it up. It’s, ‘Oh my God, we got to see real Quileutes and the guys could be in the movie, they are so buff, why did they even use actors?’ ”

Fun with “Twilight”

To be sure, many on this reservation have had a lot of fun with the “Twilight” buzz.

“Oh, I loved the books, and I’ve seen all the movies,” said Beverly Loudon, a Quileute elder whose handle on the reservation is “Quileute Bella.”

She staffed the tribe’s table at a three-day “Twilight” convention in Seattle last January and says she loves all the attention the saga has brought the tribe: “It’s good to know our little tribe is known all over.”

Her brother Roger Jackson has carved several wolf masks and continues the practice of the wolf dance. He was glad to see more than a dozen wolf masks come out at a recent gathering, as the tribe’s culture revives.

He carries many wolf stories: of the orca whales, which will transform themselves as wolves to come visit the Quileute wolves ashore, then transform again back to orcas, the wolves of the sea. And he remembers his father telling him about lying down to rest once while hunting and awakening to find a wolf watching him.

“He said the wolf was there to protect him, and after that, whenever he went hunting he used to always see that wolf following him. He was his watcher.”

He knows of the early days in the 1800s of the wolf society, a secret society of tribal members with songs, dances and ceremonies earned through traditional practices and family inheritance.

“When it was really strong, it is before my time, during the early days,” he said. Back then, certain members of the society would throw rocks on the roofs of members’ homes on the reservation: their way of announcing the secret society’s meetings.

Jackson and other tribal members at Quileute are working to revive the wolf society. He was part of the group of advisers for the exhibit. While much of the tribe’s culture remains private, he hopes the exhibit will bring forth more stories and more sharing from his tribe and others, to deepen an ongoing cultural revival.

“We got the tail end of it; just like our language, it almost disappeared,” Jackson said.

“Bringing this out, for it to be displayed and showed, maybe the doors will be opened for the Quileute tribe,” Jackson said. “That is the way I see it. People will see that, and say, ‘I have important information for you Quileutes I have carried for a long time.’ “

‘Twilight’ leads Quileute tribe to help museum tell its true story is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

QWP is happy to announce that we are quickly approaching our 1000th follower on Twitter!! In fact, we’re so tickled that we have decided to reward one of our lucky Twitter followers with a prize!

Once we reach our 1000th follower, we will select a fan at random and reward you with the following prizes:

Bella’s Bracelet- The winner will recieve their very own Bella’s charm bracelet. The bracelet is a silver chain which comes complete with a polymer rust-colored clay Werewolf charm and a genuine Swarovski crystal heart.

The winners will also receive two Werewolf tattoo’s that were featured in the Fire & Ice video by ReelzChannel.com…

QWP appreciates all it’s loyal Twitterers and want to show you just how much.
So become a QWP Twitter follower today for your chance to win!

The winners will be announced after we reach the lucky number–1000!

soucre

New QWP Twitter Contest is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

Chaske Spencer, Julia Jones, and Alex Meraz talk about their views on why the films have such appeal.

Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, and Jackson Rathbone talk about the potential male appeal.

Dakota Fanning, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Xavier Samuel cover their characters and conflict.

Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, and Liz Reaser also chime in on the male aspect.

IGN: Eclipse Cast Interviews Werewolves, Vampires, and Cullens is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

This is a contest-winning photo of First Beach in La Push by Daniel Kelley of Mercer Island.

Source

A Treat for Tired Eyes, After a Long Day Waiting for the Eclipse Soundtrack Reveal… is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

From Twilight Examiner:

(When visiting Forks and the La Push, Washington area), it’s very important for fans to acknowledge and respect the policy of this (the Quileute) community, particularly when it comes to photographs and videos of the area.

The Quileute Nation recently issued a press release detailing those policies, and here are a few important points traveling Twilight fans should know about.

* Only the Quileute Nation can authorize the capture of images and sounds not intended strictly for personal use. Personal videography and sound recordings aren’t permitted, and neither are photographs of singing or dancing performances.
* All artwork is copyrighted and should not be photographed, sketched, or videotaped without the creator or owner’s permission.

These policies are important to know, especially for those creating commercial products from their visits to the area, because there have been incidences of violation in the past.

Notably, there was an infraction made by MSN of the video policy earlier this year, for which they issued an apology.

So, when visiting La Push and the Quileute Nation, please know that they are very welcoming to Twilight fans and new guests of all origins, but the tribe does have this important policy in place and fans should know of and respect it.

TwilightExaminer via QuileuteWolfPack

Guidelines for Photographing When Visiting Quileute Areas is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

Is the Native theme in ‘Twilight’ films racist?
Apparently some professors at the University of Victoria in British Columbia think so.

A forum (at the University of Victoria in British Columbia) in a couple of weeks will examine the question, according to this story by the Victoria Times Colonist:

The [April 21] gathering will look at whether the portrayal of the indigenous character Jacob, who turns into a werewolf, is a breakthrough or perpetuates stereotypes about native men.

“He doesn’t have feathers in his hair and doesn’t live in teepee,” said Janni Aragon, a University of Victoria political science professor.

“So just the fact there are indigenous men in this book and movie is a big thing. We could say that’s a win. But the next step is to say is how are these men portrayed.”

The insanely popular movies, “Twlight,” and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” are based on the insanely popular teen vampire books by Stephenie Meyer.

Werewolves in the series are ostensibly members of the Quileute tribe, and are played in the movie by Native American actors.

As the story notes, the main Quileute character, Jacob Black, is ” muscular, hotheaded, passionate and often dressed in cutoff-style jeans or shorts. That’s in contrast to the very white vampire Edward, who is well-groomed, elegant and rational.”

And, says Sikata Banerjee, a University of Victoria women’s studies professor and associate dean of humanities, Jacob is also portrayed as somewhat childlike – “irrational and emotive, and not really equal in citizenship.”

That, she says, is dangerous, in the way that it reinforces negative stereotypes about indigenous men. What do you think?

Source via Source

Newest Attack on the Twilight Saga – Racism? is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

QuileuteWolf Pack.com and CullenBoysAnonymous feel strongly about helping the Quileute tribe, so we want to be sure to get the word out about the new, authentic Quileute store – online!

You can purchase authentic items made by members of the Quileute Nation, including hats, shirts, accessories, art, Quileute baskets, and much more!

For more information, go to QWP or to QuileuteStore.com.

Support the Quileutes – Buy Authentic Quileute Items Online is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

As pointed out by this article in the New York Times by Angela R. Riley, artwork by Neil Swaab,  the Quileute people are get lost in all the Twilight mania.   We hear a lot about the effect of Twilight on the town of Forks, but how has their new found fame affected the Quileute Tribe?

ALL the world, it seems, has been bitten by “Twilight.” Conservative estimates place revenue generated from Stephenie Meyer’s vampire chronicles — the books, movies and merchandise — in the billion-dollar range. Scarcely mentioned, however, is the effect that “Twilight” has had on the tiny Quileute Nation, situated on a postage stamp of a reservation, just one square mile, in remote La Push, Wash.

To millions of “Twilight” fans, the Quileute are Indians whose (fictional) ancient treaty transforms young males of the tribe into vampire-fighting wolves. To the nearly 700 remaining Quileute Indians, “Twilight” is the reason they are suddenly drawing extraordinary attention from the outside — while they themselves remain largely excluded from the vampire series’ vast commercial empire.

Just last month, MSN.com issued an apology to the Quileute for intruding on its territory while videotaping a “Twilight” virtual tour in September. MSN.com sought permission from the Chamber of Commerce in nearby Forks, Wash., but didn’t pay the same courtesy to the Quileute. The video team trespassed onto a reservation cemetery and taped Quileute graves, including those of esteemed tribal leaders. These images were then set to macabre music and, in November, posted on MSN.com. The tribe quickly persuaded MSN.com to remove the Quileute images.

But this was only one episode in the story of the tribe’s phenomenal, and apparently increasing, new fame. “Twilight” has made all things Quileute wildly popular: Nordstrom.com sells items from Quileute hoodies to charms bearing a supposed Quileute werewolf tattoo. And a tour company hauls busloads of fans onto the Quileute reservation daily. Yet the tribe has received no payment for this commercial activity. Meanwhile, half of Quileute families still live in poverty.

It’s important to point out that the outside uses of the Quileute name, from the “Twilight” books to the tattoo jewelry, are quite likely legal. American intellectual property laws, except in very specific circumstances, do not protect indigenous peoples’ collective cultural property.

In fact, many businesses use tribal names without involving the Indians themselves. Consider, for example, well-known products like Jeep Cherokee trucks, Oneida flatware and Apache helicopters — none of which are officially associated with Indian tribes. (The Quileute say they have never been contacted by Ms. Meyer or any of those who use the Quileute name for merchandising.)

The most significant federal law that addresses the marketing of Indian cultural goods — the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, passed in 1935 — is meant to ensure truth in advertising. It requires that any artistic products claiming to have a tribal origin are in fact produced by that tribe. Hopi kachina dolls, for example, must be Hopi-made. But it does not come into play for the Quileute hoodies, jewelry or other goods, because there is no claim they were made by the Quileute.

So what can be done? Even absent legal protection, the Quileute should be able to have a say in, and benefit financially from, outsiders’ use of their cultural property.

Many Indian tribes develop markets for their own cultural property — or at least the part of it that is not deemed sacred and therefore private. Some have introduced culturally appropriate commercial products — Navajo rugs, for example, or Potawatomi porcupine-quill earrings — to educate non-Indians about their traditions or to earn a living.

The Quileute are likewise eager to share their tribal culture, even if the interest in it was created primarily by Hollywood. The Quileute welcome outsiders, as my own interactions with them have confirmed. When hordes of “Twilight” fans showed up in La Push in 2008, the tribe, as a sovereign Indian nation, could have closed its reservation, but tribal members chose not to do so.

At the same time, like indigenous peoples around the globe, the Quileute want to be meaningful participants in the treatment of their own cultural property. This means, first and foremost, having their sovereignty and their culture respected by outsiders. The Quileute’s Web site tells visitors about the tribal laws that govern Quileute territory. One of these laws specifies that burial grounds and religious ceremonies are “sacred and not to be entered.” Had MSN acknowledged the tribe as a sovereign government, it might not have broken that rule. The Quileute believe that respect for Indian tribal sovereignty could likewise bridge cultural gaps between other Indian communities and outsiders.

Going forward, the Quileute should be engaged in the “Twilight” phenomenon. They should be able, first, to welcome Ms. Meyer to the reservation and introduce her to the Tribal Council and all the Quileute people. They should be consulted on projects where the Quileute name and culture are used to market products. And Quileute elders should be able to share with the world the true Quileute creation story, in which tribal members were transformed into humans from wolves (not vampire-fighting wolves).

Undoubtedly, the Quileute, whose remote reservation leaves them with few options for economic development, would also welcome “Twilight”-based profit-sharing arrangements or other opportunities to capitalize on the phenomenon. They struggle to maintain adequate tribal housing and to support their tribal school, Elder Center and tribal court, all of which are integral to ensuring that their culture continues for future generations.

The ultimate choice, regarding not only the Quileute but all indigenous peoples, is not simply whether outsiders are free to appropriate tribal cultural property. For the sake of fairness as much as law, indigenous peoples must play a significant role in decisions regarding their cultural property.

Twilight and the Quileutes: The Effect of New Found Fame is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

From Dazzled by Twilight’s website:

When Jacob says “kwopkalawo’li” (pronunced quo-p-kah-lah-WOH-oh-lee) to Bella, he is saying “I Love You” in Quileute.

Listen here:

i-love-you-in-quileute

Listen to the end for a Christmas wish from Dazzled by Twilight and CBA as well!  (Dazzled by Twilight is a wonderful shop in downtown Forks.)

Learn “I Love You” in Quileute is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

Chris Morganroth III tells the legend of the Quileute people. — Photo by Chris Tucker/Peninsula Daily News

The Quileute legends in Twilight have a basis in the actual tales, Quileute stories do included descending from wolves – but definately not werewolves. In order to give fans a taste of the true culture, the tribe has begin to have storytelling on special fan weekends and events such as weekly healing drum circles (Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center) to entertain and teach. If you get to Forks, you don’t want to miss that.
From the Peninsula Daily News

Chris Morganroth III was raised by his grandmother, who spoke the Quileute language, told the stories and made baskets and food in traditional ways.
He tells the story of the origin of the Quileute:

Quileute beginnings

If you begin to look into the stories and how we got to be here, they go back to the beginnings of time.
Before that, Spirit beings could transform themselves into animals or people at will. There were even living beings in outer space, such as the sun. They called those people the fire sky people.
After some time, the Spirit beings had to choose what they would be and were no longer able to transform.
After this, K’wati came into the area of LaPush and found that there were no humans. He went to the mouth of the river and there were wolves, timber wolves.
Now these wolves always travel in pairs and they mate for life.
K’wati saw that there were no people in this area near LaPush. So he transformed that pair of wolves into the Quileute people.

K’wati is a supernatural figure in Quileute stories who transforms people or objects. K’wati wasn’t a “sorcerer” or “witch king,” as Meyer’s has it.  “He wasn’t really a god, but a transformer — he was put on Earth to make things better,” Morganroth said.   Although Meyer’s teen werewolves are not part of Quileute legends, she draws from the tribal connection to wolves.

Even in present times, the wolf is often referred to as a brother of the tribe, as is the orca — which also is said to have descended from the wolf, Morganroth said.

The New Moon werewolves aren’t your average, hairy-faced cross between a man and a wolf. The boys “phase” into bear-sized wolves with enough superpowers to kill vampires.  And they developed out of a need to protect the people of Forks and LaPush from vampires.  The Quileute have no such legend.

Morganroth said it doesn’t bother him much when he hears how the stories are changed and used in the books.

“People are always telling me how my stories are not the real way things happened — science is the main one — but I think of them as ways to explain things that happened,” Morganroth said.  “We have stories in LaPush that explain events going back to the Ice Age, but science and history people claim that we came across the land bridge much later than that.

“And her book is a work of fiction. If she needed to make some changes to make it more exciting that is up to her.”

He went on to say that one legend talks about the fire of the sun being captured in leaves and used to keep the plant living — a legend which perfectly parallels the scientific process of photosynthesis.  “So we have our story to explain how that works,” he said.

“If Ms. Meyer wanted to make up a story about werewolves, that is her thing — it helped make the characters more interesting.”

Source

Real Quileutes on the Real Quileute Legends is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

Here is a second clip of ReelzChannel’s Quileute special on Twilight Weekly: Spotlight. This clip features actress Tinsel Korey as she talks about the time she spent with the tribe to both learn from them and give back to the community.

See Part 1 here.

Source

Part 2 of the ReelzChannel Special on the Quileute Nation is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

Here is the first clip made available from last night’s episode of ReelzChannel’s Twilight Weekly: Spotlight- Quileute Nation. In it, a tribal elder tell the true creation story of the Quileute Nation.

Part 1 of the ReelzChannel Special on the Quileute Nation is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous

ReelzChannel will be airing a special on the Quileute Nation, TOMORROW. Quoting from their news release:

REELZCHANNEL – TV About Movies® today announced that the Quileute Nation has granted permission to the show “Twilight Weekly: Spotlight” to gather footage and imagery within tribal lands. This unprecedented access is the first-ever for a television network and was granted to REELZCHANNEL in recognition of the network’s commitment to authenticity and the opportunity to educate those who have taken an interest in the Quileute Nation from their exposure to the culture through the Twilight saga of books and movies.
“The ‘Twilight phenomenon’ gives the Quileute Nation the opportunity to educate the world about their true history, traditions, culture and creation story,” said Quileute spokesperson Jackie Jacobs. “It was very important to this Nation to partner with an organization that we felt understood that the non-fictional Quileute story is more complex, multi-dimensional and sacred than [the one] everyone has been exposed to. We have been inundated with requests from various outlets to tell the story but felt that REELZCHANNEL embodied the authentic direction we wanted to explore while keeping it fun and interesting for the fans.”
This episode captures the sweeping landscapes of the tribal lands, giving viewers an exclusive look at the locations recreated for the film including the beach where Jacob tells Bella about the Cullen vampire legend, the cliffs that Bella leaps from to draw Edward back to her, and the school that Jacob attended as described in the “New Moon” book. Viewers are then transported to the celebrations of the culture through intimate ceremonies of the drum circle and tribal dances. The sights of the Quileute Nation come to life in the voices of its people in interviews with tribal elder and storyteller Chris Morganroth III and Roy Black known to the tribe as “Jacob’s Grandfather.” Actress Tinsel Korey, who portrays the character of Emily in the films, also shares her experience.

The Quileute Nation episode premieres this Monday, September 28th at 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific.

REELZCHANNEL TV is carried via cable and satellite on DirectTV (Channel 238) and DISH Network (Channel 299) reaching more than 46 million homes nationwide. Local channel information is available on the website’s home page through a zip code look-up.

ReelzChannel Special on Quileute Nation Airs Monday is a post from: Cullen Boys Anonymous