Roger Fernandes is a Native American artist, storyteller, and educator whose work focuses on the culture and arts of the Coast Salish tribes of western Washington. He is a member of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe and has a B.A. in Native American Studies from The Evergreen State College and an M.A. in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University. He currently teaches courses on storytelling and art at the University of Washington, Northwest Indian College, and other learning institutions. He won a folklife award from the Washington Arts Commission for his work in teaching about Coast Salish art.

“My name is Roger Fernandes. My native name is Kawasa. I’m a member of the Lower Elwha Band of the S’Klallam Indians from the Port Angeles area of the state of Washington. I was born and raised in the Seattle area. My mother moved to the city when she was a young woman and I was born in 1951 in Seattle. So I guess I’m what you would call an urban Indian, in some regards that makes life difficult in figuring out your native identity. In other regards, it can be seen as an asset. As when you do begin to look for your tribal identity it becomes a very focused search. That focused search led me to art and language and ceremony and story. So the past few years I’ve been telling Native American stories from this region for my own tribe as well as the tribes of the Puget Sound area.”

“My mother again is Violet Charles and Charles’s name is very big among the Klallam people. There are a lot of English surnames among our tribes of this area including Charles, Johnson, Samson, and James, English surnames that were given to the various families as they were identified and moved onto the reservations. My great-grandmother’s name was Annie Ned. She married into the Makah tribe and moved to Neah Bay, the home of the Makah people, and as such, I have many Makah relatives as well. So the northern Olympic Peninsula is where the Klallam people and the Makah people are. I have a family of four brothers and all of us are active in the culture doing various things like singing, basket making, artwork, and stories.”

Roger started with simple legends. Through his own interest and doors being opened by understanding those stories, he moved into telling myths, creation stories, flood stories, and hero stories. In sharing these types of stories Native people can teach non-Natives about the aspects of their culture that go beyond food, shelter, and clothing. These stories actually define the culture of the tellers. In the course of learning Native American stories, Roger has integrated stories he has learned from other cultures around the world like Mexico, Africa, and Asia. All stories speak the same human language and teach the same lessons. Spiritual health that people need is told in stories that convey how a human being is to live in balance with family, community, and nature. Stories lead to a spiritual and emotional understanding of how to live in the world.

Details

Location: Carver room of the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St.

Date: Wed. Jan. 8, 2024. Note that this is the SECOND Wednesday of the month, rather than our usual FIRST Wednesday (we’re avoiding conflict with New Year’s Day).

Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Cost: Free

Open Mic

The featured teller will be preceded by open mic storytelling. Audience members are welcome to share a story of up to 10 minutes length. Anyone interested in telling a story is strongly encouraged to develop it and practice it at the monthly Story Work session on Zoom — find more information on our Facebook page. Guidelines for storytellers can be found by clicking here.