How often do students get to learn firsthand from true "national treasures"? Twice last week, if those students are RDS third-, fourth-, or sixth-graders! For the second year in a row, Julia and Lucy Parker visited Redwood Day to demonstrate and teach the art of basketry and acorn processing, bringing an important human dimension and true sense of history to each grade's curriculum units on California indigenous peoples.

Julia Parker is known throughout California and the global basketry community. An employee of the National Park Service at 80 years of age, she works for the Indian Cultural Program in Yosemite Valley but to say that she is primarily a basket weaver hardly begins to scratch the surface. She is a cultural curator, representing California Miwok, Pomo, and Paiute communities. Her daughter Lucy is also a master basket weaver, who learned her craft from her mother. The Parker family includes four generations of basket weavers; even the Queen of England is an admirer of Julia's baskets.

Julia continues to teach so that the traditions of her people are not lost and the next generation will be aware of the environment and reflect upon the history of our land and its people. Julia and Lucy shared stories and played Native games with the sixth-graders and taught our fourth-grade students traditional ways of gathering and processing acorns, demonstrating the importance of  being mindful of your work. Knowledgeable about the 150 species that need acorns for their diets, Julia shared this knowledge with students, taking only what was needed and leaving the rest for the environment.

Third-grade students (and their parents!) learned basket-weaving -- and persistence and patience -- under Julia and Lucy's tutelage. They learned to prepare and work with tule and willow, each child creating a uniquely personal small basket to give away. While Julia taught, she shared stories, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as honoring songs that celebrate people, nature and theirinteractions. Far more than the product of a social studies lesson, each piece of basketry enabled its student creator to look at the world differently, with a greater understanding of history, and with more respect for tradition and what nature provides.