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Transcription: [00:09:14]
[[music is playing in the background throughout interview]]
{SPEAKER name="Greg Arnold"}
they're generally owned by families that there is songs that go with these dance these masks and and the masks are used in that particular ceremony.
[00:09:25]
And uh up until I guess, about the mid 60's there was only one wood carver in the village really actively carving.
[00:09:38]
And then we had some people come into the village from Canada who married Makah ladies who impacted carving in the area.
[00:09:47]
And then the museum had a number of resources they've collected so young Makah's could start taking a look at
[00:09:57]
what types of masks were being produced thoroughly and the masks that are now in the Smithsonian and the Chicago Field Museum.
[00:10:06]
So, all of a sudden there was a massive resource available for people to look at
[00:10:12]
and then what that did is inspire the elders to talk about them because they could see them you show a slide and they say well
[00:10:20]
that's a you know they say that's an eagle mask and you did you know so they that brought a lot more information to individuals
[00:10:31]
as they started doing different carvings and its been quite nice.
[00:10:38]
{SPEAKER name="Rayna Green"}
I see Greg making that mask dance a little bit [[laughter]] down there.
[00:10:44]
Greg Colfax what about this mask? What dance is it used for? What family?
[00:10:51]
Now this is, is this a ceremonial mask?
[00:10:53]
{SPEAKER name="Greg Colfax"] This mask here is an art piece. It wasn't ordered by a traditional person who would own the song and the dance.
[00:11:04]
So, this particular piece goes to a collector and to an art dealer.
[00:11:09]
I've studied some of the old masks and some of them they would have like Thunderbirds and feathers off of here and
[00:11:18]
all kinds of designs that belong to certain families, which
[00:11:22]
I don't want to duplicate or copy unless I'm hired by that family to do that.
[00:11:27]
I believe there has to be real line of division between what to do for a traditionalist who's buying the mask for traditional use
[00:11:38]
and on the other hand the art world, the collectors and the dealers who appreciate the art and support it.
[00:11:47]
Uh, but the piece that they get and how I carve it is like on this one
[00:11:56]
I call this a whaler's mask and it's of a whale on the bottom here and that's what this one is.
[00:12:05]
{SPEAKER name="Rayna Green"}
I notice, I was gonna say something for the benefit of a lot of children here.
[00:12:12]
You know, a lot of young kids in America, their only association with masks is that masks are scary and they're used in Halloween, for example.
[00:12:21]
Is this a scary mask? Are most of the masks you make meant to be made frightening or scary?


Transcription Notes:
[00:10:53] {SPEAKER name="Greg Colfax"] typo {Speaker name="Greg Colfax"} [00:11:40] There is yelling in the background