Media Contact: Leanne Ingle, 360-704-4508, or outside Thurston County calling area: (877) 284-6237, ext. 2508; e-mail: lingle@trlib.org.

Life of Mary Sam Offers Insights on Growth and Change

Harvest Moon, Quinault Tribal Ambassador, storyteller and basket maker, will present a first-person historical portrayal, Mary Sam (c1830-1923): Basket Weaver, Visionary, Provider & Survivor, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 28 at the Tumwater Timberland Library, 7023 New Market St. This presentation is free of charge and intended for a high school to adult audience.

Sam was born into the Klickitat Tribe of Eastern Washington and brought up in the Suquamish traditions on Bainbridge Island where she found ways to move comfortably among both the Suquamish and the white settlers. Mary Sam’s life presents a window on both cultures and offers insights on growth and change.

Harvest Moon, a Tenino area resident, bases her portrayals of Mary Sam on pioneer journals, documented recollections of tribal elders of the time, and other historical materials from Bainbridge Island.

For more information, call the library at 943-7790.

This presentation is part of Humanities Washington’s Inquiring Mind program series.

Photo: Harvest Moon in costume as Mary Sam. (Courtesy Humanities Washington)

Timberland Regional Library serves Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston counties at 27 community libraries and 6 school-based cooperative library centers. For information on any subject, the public can telephone Timberland’s Central Reference Service librarians at 704-INFO (704-4636) from Thurston County, Shelton and Oakville or 1-800-562-6022, toll-free, from all other areas in the district. Or they can "Ask a Librarian" online at http://www.trlib.org/asklib.htm. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library’s program may contact the library 4 days in advance.