Lawney Reyes
Encyclopedia
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
artist, curator and memoirist.
Life
Reyes' mother, born Mary Christian, was Sin Aikst (now known as the SinixtSinixt
The Sinixt are a First Nations People...
and historically as the Senjextee and also as "the Lake", now one of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Colville Indian Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is recognized by the United States of America as an American Indian Tribe...
); his father, Julian Reyes, was Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, but had largely assimilated to an Indian way of life. His mother's father, Alex Christian, was known as Pic Ah Kelowna, "White Grizzly Bear"; his great uncle (brother of his maternal grandmother) was Chief James Bernard, a Sin Aikst leader in the early 20th century.
Reyes' early childhood was spent largely on the Colville Indian Reservation
Colville Indian Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is recognized by the United States of America as an American Indian Tribe...
in Washington. In 1935–1937, during the period of construction of the Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
, his parents had moved to the Coulee and started a Chinese restaurant even though "[n]either of them could prepare Chinese food except for simple dishes such as pork fried rice, egg foo-yung, and chop suey". They soon acquired an ethnically Chinese partner and cook, Harry Wong; Wong bought them out of the restaurant in 1937. His parents separated in 1939 and subsequently divorced; his mother would later work again for Wong in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, and eventually marry him.
During their time based at Grand Coulee, the 4-year-old Lawney became a reasonably competent player of the ukelele. He and 2-year-old sister Luana did a brief spell with their father on the Eastern Washington vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit performing Hawaiian music.
From 1940 to 1942, Reyes was a student at the Chemawa Indian School
Chemawa Indian School
Chemawa Indian School is a Native American boarding school in Salem, Oregon, United States. It was opened on February 25, 1880 as an elementary school, but as of 2005, served ninth through twelfth grades. It is sometimes referred to as Chemawa High School...
five miles north of Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
; he would later write that his consciousness of being "Indian" was largely formed through his conversations there with other students. The rest of his childhood and youth was spent living with his father, variously on the Colville Reservation and in Okanogan, Washington
Okanogan, Washington
Okanogan is a town in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,552 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Okanogan County.It has a small commuter airfield, Okanogan Legion Airport - with one paved runway of in length....
.
After graduating from Okanogan High School in 1949, he initially moved to Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, living with his mother. He moved back east across the mountains and attended Wenatchee Junior College, where he obtained a two-year degree. He met Joyce Meacham, a Yakama
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
and Warm Springs Indian
Warm Springs Indian Reservation
The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of 1,019.385 sq mi in north central Oregon, in the United States, and is occupied and governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.-Tribes:...
; they were married in 1955; she later had a career in social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
and especially in Indian Health programs. He served in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
; active service and leave gave him the opportunity to see much of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, from Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
to Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, which confirmed his interest in working in a field related to "architecture design, and art". Upon his return he attended the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, studying painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and majoring in interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
. He graduated in 1959.
He worked for Seafirst Bank
Seafirst Bank
Seafirst Corporation was a bank holding company based in Seattle, Washington. Formed on November 11, 1929, from the merger of Seattle's three largest banks, the First National Bank Group, the Dexter Horton National Bank , and Seattle National Bank, the bank was originally named First Seattle Dexter...
, initially as a designer, eventually creating and curating the Seafirst Corporate Art Collection. During this time, he also used his nights and weekends to be a sculptor (mainly in wood) and a freelance interior designer. He became an increasingly acclaimed artist—winning a major award from the Center for Indian Art in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and being invited to teach Contemporary Indian Art at the University of Washington—and curator, serving as commissioner of the Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
Arts Commission and a member of the (Washington) Governor's Task Force for the state's arts appropriation budget.
He took early retirement from Seafirst in 1984, and traveled North America visiting various Indian tribes, and later writing two books, his memoir White Grizzly Bear's Legacy: Learning to be Indian and a biography of his brother Bernie Whitebear
Bernie Whitebear
Bernie Whitebear , birth name Bernard Reyes, was an American Indian activist, a co-founder of the Seattle Indian Health Board , the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and the Daybreak Star Cultural Center....
: An Urban Indian's Quest for Justice.
Reyes' late brother Bernie Whitebear was a prominent activist, a founder of the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB), the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and the Daybreak Star Cultural Center
Daybreak Star Cultural Center
The Daybreak Star Cultural Center is a Native American cultural center in Seattle, Washington, described by its parent organization United Indians of All Tribes as "an urban base for Native Americans in the Seattle area." Located on 20 acres in Seattle's Discovery Park in the Magnolia...
; SIHB would grow to prominence under the directorship of their late sister, Luana Reyes
Luana Reyes
Luana Reyes ) was an American Indian health care administrator. As executive director of the Seattle Indian Health Board 1972–1982, she grew that institution from a staff of five to nearly 200 and made it a model for urban Indian institutions; subsequently, she worked for the federal Indian Health...
, who eventually became the number two person in the U.S. federal government's Indian Health Services.
Writings
Reyes' 2002 memoir White Grizzly Bear's Legacy: Learning to be Indian combines his own memories and research with notes from library and field research (including taped interviews) done by his mother before her death in a traffic accident in May 1978. Among other things, it describes fishing at Kettle FallsKettle Falls
Kettle Falls was an ancient and important salmon fishing site on the upper reaches of the Columbia River, in what is today the U.S. state of Washington, near the Canadian border...
on the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and living in Inchelium, Washington
Inchelium, Washington
Inchelium is a census-designated place in Ferry County, Washington, United States on the Colville Indian Reservation. The population was 409 at the 2010 census....
at its old site, before both Kettle Falls and Old Inchelium were flooded by the rising waters after the construction of Grand Coulee Dam (which also prevented salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
from reaching the Upper Columbia); the life of the Sin Aikst/Lakes as the flooding and other changes rendered many of their traditional ways impossible, along with their attempts to preserve elements of their traditions; and the ambivalent effect of institutions such as the Chemawa Indian School
Chemawa Indian School
Chemawa Indian School is a Native American boarding school in Salem, Oregon, United States. It was opened on February 25, 1880 as an elementary school, but as of 2005, served ninth through twelfth grades. It is sometimes referred to as Chemawa High School...
circa 1940, simultaneously acculturating natives to the dominant American culture while also instilling a sense of "Indianness" rather than just their individual tribes.
His second book — Bernie Whitebear: An Urban Indian's Quest for Justice (2006) — is a biography of his brother Bernie Whitebear
Bernie Whitebear
Bernie Whitebear , birth name Bernard Reyes, was an American Indian activist, a co-founder of the Seattle Indian Health Board , the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and the Daybreak Star Cultural Center....
(1937–2000), one of the so-called "Gang of Four
Gang of Four (Seattle)
In the politics of Seattle, Washington in the United States, "Gang of Four" refers to Bernie Whitebear, Bob Santos, Roberto Maestas, and Larry Gossett, who founded Seattle's Minority Executive Directors's Coalition....
" or "Four Amigos" who founded Seattle's Minority Executive Directors's Coalition.
Reyes' third book, B Street: A Gathering of Saints and Sinners, about the Grand Coulee area between 1933 and 1941, during the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, was published in 2008 by the University of Washington Press.
Sculpture and design
Reyes helped design the Daybreak Star Cultural CenterDaybreak Star Cultural Center
The Daybreak Star Cultural Center is a Native American cultural center in Seattle, Washington, described by its parent organization United Indians of All Tribes as "an urban base for Native Americans in the Seattle area." Located on 20 acres in Seattle's Discovery Park in the Magnolia...
; his sculpture "Blue Jay" (which measures 30 feet (9 m) wide and 12 feet (3.7 m) high) hung prominently for over 30 years at the Bank of California building in downtown Seattle; after a bank merger it came to hang at Daybreak Star in 2004. His "Dreamcatcher", at the corner of 32nd Avenues and Yesler Way in Seattle honors the memory of his brother Bernie and his sister Luana.
Reyes received the Washington State Arts Commission Governor's Arts Award in 1971.
External links
- Official site. Images include photographs of some of his art.
- Lawney Reyes, Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, University of Washington. Includes extensive video of interviews with Reyes.