I have always been someone who likes to learn. In school even if I didn’t have homework, I would bring home a book from a subject I liked and read the parts in the book that I was most interested in. It was usually either my history book or my geography book. I loved learning about other cultures and areas of the world.
As an adult, I still am interested in those things and have used my interest in the local Native American tribes to share their customs and beliefs and to show they are still a strong people who continue to learn and keep their heritage alive.
Trips I’ve taken have ended up adding more locales and cultures into my books. I like that I can share what I learn with my readers.
In the Shandra Higheagle mysteries, my main character, Shandra Higheagle, is a potter. She uses clay from the mountain where she lives and purifies it to make a quality clay to make her vases out of. I spent an afternoon, learning about the process from an actual potter. I loved the idea of having a character who is part Native American using clay she digs up, cleans, and transforms into beautiful pieces of art. The process is talked about in a couple of the books.
Because I have Indigenous characters in my three mystery series, I try to put in bits about their culture that shows who they are and how their people came to be strong, but since I’m not Native American, I do my best to show and not tell, since it isn’t my culture. I have readers wanting more of the culture, but I only put in what I fell comfortable revealing.
I signed up to learn to make pine needle baskets from a Paiute Elder. Beverly Beers is a fun instructor. She gave us what we needed to know to start and then went around instructing each of us. I started out misinterpreting her instructions and ended up with a larger hole than it was supposed to be. She chuckled and said, “You have made your own pattern.” Which was a kind way of saying I didn’t follow the instructions. 😉
As I sat in the room with the other participants and we all were engrossed in what we were doing a peace came over me that felt good. Stitching each stitch to bind the needles together and adding each new bundle of needles was calming.
I don’t know if it was the tactile closeness to the needles and nature, or the rhythmic stitching, but it felt right and welcome.
Now I’m not saying my hands didn’t start aching from holding the needles tight to put the stitches in, but it was a good ache, if that makes sense. I knew that I was making something interesting and I thought of places I could go to get my own pine needles to try a basket on my own.
I also thought of my character in the Spotted Pony Casino mysteries. She’s a disable veteran who is head of the casino security. She has tragedy in her past and upheaval in her present. She could use a hobby that would perhaps put all her troubles to the back of her mind for short periods of time. As I sat there binding the rows of needles together, I realized this would be a good hobby for Dela. Her friend Rosie, a Umatilla tribal member, could show her how to make pine needle baskets. Dela would enjoy the process, and it would then give her an excuse to go into the Blue Mountains to look for pine needles. While there she could come across an abandoned cabin she’d visited once before and found a journal from the man she believes is her father.
It’s amazing how when your hands are busy and your mind is free your imagination can run amuck and add a secondary plot line to a story. 😉
I will not only share the art of making a pine needle basket, I’ll also move my story along and bring Dela closer to learning the truth about her father. Maybe.
Ladies of Mystery 
You must be logged in to post a comment.