(From the collection guide for Cage 671, the Peck Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Life, 1958-2000.)
Charles Peck was born May 22, 1914, in Hazard, Kentucky. He graduated from West Virginia University School of Forestry in 1939 and received a master's degree in public administration and economics from the University of Colorado in 1963. In 1967 he joined the Agricultural Extension Service at Washington State University as an Information Specialist. He served as a county extension agent for WSU in Cowlitz, Mason and Spokane counties. In 1970 he produced a series of photographs expressing the meaning of responsible land use management, with the Queets River basin serving as the site for his study.
Elizabeth (Tuckwiller) Peck was born in 1918. She graduated from West Virginia University with an A.B. in Music Education in 1939. She received her master's degree in 1973 from Washington State University Department of Music. Elizabeth also taught at the Queets-Clearwater school and was an avid seamstress.
In April of 1970 Charles and Elizabeth moved to Queets, Washington, for a planned six-month sabbatical leave. Their six-month sojourn lasted 17 years. As Charles said:
"Little did we know that the central issue of the sabbatical would swiftly gravitate to trying to develop a comfortable and lasting rapport with the Quinault Indians of Queets, and to learn something of their culture. We were to find such work often sobering and difficult, but always exciting. We were to find trust developing slowly. But finally were able to make friends with the generous and gifted people."
While in Queets they lived among the Pacific coast Native American tribes of Washington state, documenting and recording their history and music. Elizabeth's musical interests helped ease fears among tribal elders that their musical heritage would, in short order, become irretrievably lost: she preserved and documented some of this heritage in hundreds of hours of recorded material and in the work she did for her master's thesis, "Songs of the Bogachiel." There she attempted to understand the power of a family song from a Quileute point of view, focusing on the role of song ownership.
Charles photographed a variety of subjects, but he especially enjoyed photographing Indian children. He published some of those photos in an ABC book for children. His photos have been displayed throughout the Northwest, including Portland and Seattle. In addition to his photography he became known on the reservation for his drum-making skills and as an avid fisherman.
This collection contains artifacts, mainly Pacific Northwest Coast Indian baskets and drums, related to the papers, audio recordings, and other materials in the Peck Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Life, 1958-2000 (Cage 671). The quotations in the descriptions for the baskets and deer hooves are taken from Elizabeth Peck’s notes (included in Box 6). The item numbers reflect the current arrangement of the collection. The basket and drum numbers are the original numbers assigned by Peck.
The images included in this guide were taken by Michael Walpole, graphic designer, in conjunction with the processing of the collection. Additional images (slides and/or photographic prints) of many of these items are also included in Cage 671.
The artifacts are grouped by object type.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Peck Collection of Pacific Northwest Coast Indian Artifacts, circa 1970s (Cage 671a)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Elizabeth Peck donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 2001 with additional materials for the Peck Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Life, 1958-2000 (Cage 671).
This collection was processed in 2005 by Cheryl Gunselman, Manuscripts Librarian.
The images included in this guide were taken by Michael Walpole, graphic designer, in conjunction with the processing of the collection.
This material was originally recieved as part of an addition to the Peck Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Life,
1958-2000
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Deer hooves. Accompanying note reads in part: "Used for rattles attached to sticks or wrist rings, on ankles, clothing, medicine sticks and many other ways."
Loose bear grass leaves, dried.
Inscription: "This drum by Charles K. Peck, Queets, Wash., August 5, 1971. Head: Mule Deer; Lacing: Elk; Frame: W. R. Cedar; Made for: Elizabeth (Libby) T. Peck. Drum Number 2." Height: 7 cm., Diameter: 38 cm.
Photo of
A Makah basket...made of cedar bark. Height: 8 cm., Diameter: 19 cm.
Photo of
Made by Leila Penn Fisher, Hoh...Materials: cedar bark, bear grass, bottom grass base? Includes lid. Height: 5 cm., Diameter: 7 cm.
Photo of
Made by Helen Sailto Lee, Hoh Indian. Includes lid. Height: 8 cm., Diameter: 8 cm.
Photo of
"By a Neah Bay Indian." Includes lid. Height: 5 cm., Diameter: 8 cm.
Photo of
"A British Columbia basket via Mary ‘Lilybelle’ Williams." Includes lid. Height: 5 cm., Diameter: 5 cm.
Photo of
"Made by Mrs. Howard Logan of Queets, WA." Includes lid. Height: 5 cm., Diameter: 6 cm.
Photo of
"Miniature harpoon point holder. A gift from the Ward family, Neah Bay, WA. Used as a tourist item to hold mail." Height: 25 cm., Width: 30 cm.
Photo of
"By Freda Charles Kalama of Queets, WA. An early basket made in 1970...Freda had not learned to make lids." Height: 5 cm., Diameter: 7 cm.
Photo of
"Made in British Columbia. Purchased by Mary Williams when she visited her B.C. Indian friends." Includes lid. Height: 4 cm., Diameter: 6 cm.
Photo of
"Woven by Mrs. Chet Pulcifer (Elvira), Lummi heritage, of Queets, WA." Height: 6 cm., Diameter: 8 cm.
Photo of
"By Alvira Pulcifer, Queets." Height: 7 cm., Length: 11 cm., Width: 10 cm.
Photo of
"Made by Elizabeth Peck…cedar bark work basket," 1972. Height: 22 cm., Width: 25 cm., Length: 30 cm.
Photo of
"By Dorothy Flynn, Queets, WA." Basket with "fishbone" design. Height: 9 cm., Width: 14 cm., Length: 21 cm.
Photo of
"Quileute basket made by Leila Fisher of Hoh, WA. Made of cedar bark, bear grass and bottom grass," 1972. Height: 5 cm., Length: 15 cm., Width: 15 cm.
Photo of
"By Mary Fisher Williams, Quileute, from Hoh River…mostly swamp grass." Includes lid, 1971. Height: 8 cm., Diameter: 12 cm.
Photo of
"By Mary Williams…Bear grass, cedar bark, raffia and fabric lining," 1970. Height: 22 cm., Length: 37 cm., Width: 20 cm.
Photo of
"By Makah of Neah Bay." Height: 5 cm., Length: 15 cm., Width: 9 cm.
Photo of
"Made by Dorothy Wheeler Flynn, Quileute mother of Jesse ‘PeeWee’ Kawoosh of Queets, WA," 1976. Height: 22 cm., Diameter: 27 cm.
Photo of
"Made by Leila Penn Fisher, Hoh…Basket materials are cedar bark, Bear Grass or ‘straw’ and raffia." Height: 18 cm., Diameter: 13 cm.
Photo of
"Made by Charlotte Kalama, Queets, WA. This is Charlotte’s first ‘open weave’ basket… Materials: cedar bark and raffia," 1973. Height: 11 cm., Length: 15 cm., Width: 13 cm.
Photo of
"Match holder basketry by Charlotte Kalama, Quileute." Height: 12 cm., Length: 10 cm., Width: 10 cm.
Photo of
"Woven cedar bark match holder—Makah." Height: 13 cm., Length: 9 cm., Width: 9 cm.
Photo of
"Louise Pulcifer—Skokomish." Height: 15 cm., Length: 20 cm., Width: 13 cm.
Photo of
"Made by Mrs. Maggie Kelly, Quinault…raffia is sewed with a needle over cattail," 1971. Height: 25 cm., Diameter: 18 cm.
Photo of
"Makah shopping basket." Height: 17 cm., Length: 24 cm., Width: 16 cm.
Photo of
"Makah shopping basket by Irene Ward." Height: 16 cm., Length: 27 cm., Width: 15 cm.
Photo of
"Open weave basket by Mrs. Maggie Kelly in Queets, WA," circa 1970s. Height: 28 cm., Diameter: 21 cm.
Photo of
"Made by Elizabeth Peck who lived in Queets 1970-1973." Height: 5 cm., Diameter: 8 cm.
Photo of
"Half completed by Mary K. Leitka, daughter of Leila Penn Fisher…Elizabeth wanted this basket as an example of making baskets." Height: 11 cm., Diameter: 8 cm.
Photo of
Length: 80 cm.
Photo attached, with inscription "Captain Sam, Queets, Olympic, 1931." On opposite side, marked "Harry Sam, Born Dec. 24, 1900." Length: 62 cm.
Includes newspaper article about Charlotte Kalama: "Weaving Life—One Strand at a Time," The Daily World, 4 August 2002.