Bringing heritage home

For this Beaverton-area resident, Indian art tells a personal story

By Gail Park

The Times, Feb 8, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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The 40-year-old Century 21 All Professionals Realtor captures the essence of her Indian people with one of her most special artifacts: a hand-chipped volcanic glass knife with an eagle head carved into the handle. An antler holder, embellished with beads and leather, gracefully holds the razor-sharp instrument.

Another Simon favorite is a pair of spears. One is Apache with grooves that tell the story of the “circle of life.” The other is Navajo. The spears frame a Bev Dolittle piece called “Hidden Faces.” The work depicts the spirit of the warrior as a tricky assailant.

“The conflict is handled honorably. The warriors take the enemies’ horses right out from under their noses. The attack is honorable, not like how it is shown in the movies.”

Simon’s two-story home expresses the spirituality of the Indian tribes, their reverence for nature and family. It celebrates ancient legends of the wild, with buffalo and wolf masks. The buffalo supplied the Plains Indians with virtually everything they needed to stay alive: food, hunting implements, adhesive and shields. The sacred wolf spirit is believed to communicate with greater powers. The mighty bald eagle, considered a protector and sky spirit, graces several artworks.

“Everything is connected somehow,” smiles the woman with long dark hair. “The native people know how to be peaceful and take care of everyone, including extended family. They understand what it means to give unconditional love . . . We have a great past, but that has pretty much been annihilated.”

The Ottawas were farming people who lived on the northern shores of Lake Huron, Mich., in villages of birchbark houses called wigwams. The women grew crops and the men trapped and fished. The word Ottawa means “traders.”

“The tribe took good care of the land and were moved by the government to a reservation on poor land,” says Simon, trying not to get distracted.

Bitterness is part of her Indian Nations’ history.

“When they made that work, the government would take that land, too, and tribe was moved again.”

Simon’s collection captures the free spirit of the American Indian culture. It will continue to grow, despite the fear that wall space will run out in her custom-remodeled home. Shifting collections to accommodate new pieces will come to pass.

“It’s what appeals to me,” says the woman who shares her living space with two cats and three dogs.

“A lot has been taken away from us, and this is my way of sharing the remaining remnants of my heritage. I’ve come to appreciate it more as I’ve gotten older.”

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