These were the artists of more than eight decades ago, the Klikitat women who left us a legacy of unequaled craftsmanship. Native American baskets, bags and other handiwork, done by a handful of women, are on display for the public for the first time at Maryhill Museum of Art.

About 100 Native American artifacts, known as the Wyers Collection, were donated to the museum in 2015, by Jan Wyers and Teunis Wyers, Jr., grandsons of the White Salmon man who accumulated the objects.

"Its an amazing gift," said Steven Grafe, Maryhills curator of art. "It keeps the collection local and keeps it on display."

It also serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage of the Pacific Northwest and, specifically, the Klikitats who are one of the 14 bands comprising the Yakama Indian Nation.

The Wyers collection includes four of the five different types of Klikitat baskets: corn husk, Sally bags, berry baskets and bark baskets. (The fifth type, twined hats, are not part of the assemblage.)

Grafe chose about 40 of the artifacts to exhibit this summer, ranging from coiled cedar-root baskets and twined storage bags to beaded flat bags.

The works represent women artists from the Mid-Columbia River, or Plateau, area and were created primarily in the 1930s or earlier. John Wyers, the collector, managed a hardware and merchandise cooperative in White Salmon before he died in 1960. During his 90-year life, he made friends with Klikitat basket makers, primarily women from three extended families — the Hunts, Cayuses and Thomases. Not only did he admire their craftsmanship, he also wanted to ensure their traditional art would be preserved.

Grafe said Wyers was known as a fair dealer, so weavers often brought their baskets and bags to him.

Wyers collected all kinds of Klikitat weavings — large baskets coiled with bear grass and cedar root, for transporting huckleberries; sally bags, twined round bags used to carry roots after they were dug from the ground in the spring; flat bags covered with glass-beaded designs and large bags twined from corn husks. A combination of utilitarian and beautiful, they were well-used and well-loved by Native American families.

Harvest seasons not only provided berries and roots, they also meant fish, elk, deer. The bounty had to be carried and then cooked, dried and stored for the winter. Women used the materials around them — bark, roots, grasses — to make containers, which are now lasting works of artistry.

In addition to the woven baskets and beaded bags on display, there are coiled cedar tea cups, small baskets with lids and oblong, hard-sided baskets made from cedar bark.

"Bark baskets served a different function," Grafe explained. "They could be made quickly in a pinch — a couple of hours — to hold something."

On the other hand, the technique employed in coiled cedar root and bear grass baskets took years to perfect. Grafe pointed out that a particularly noteworthy feature of the collection is that many of the basket weavers have been identified, with their names prominently exhibited beside the display case.

"We make a big deal about who makes things; its important to know the provenance of items," he said. "We have the names of the makers, and thats unusual." But the names of the makers were not always known, and their legacy might have remained anonymous had it not been for Lucile Wyers, who married Teunis Wyers, John Wyers son. After Teunis died, she inherited the collection and set about the task of figuring out who had crafted each basket. (Her father-in-law had known, but he hadnt recorded their names.)

So, in 1984, Lucile Wyers invited two renowned basket makers, Elsie Thomas and Thomas daughter-in-law, Nettie Jackson, to her house to examine the baskets and help determine the maker from the style, designs and technique.

Thomas, from Husum, was part of the Cayuse, Thomas and Hunt families. It turned out that she had made several baskets in the collection, and she also identified those made by her grandmother, Mary Cayuse; her mother, Lucy Thomas; and her two sisters, Julia and Sophie Thomas. Jackson, from White Swan, recognized work from her great grandmother, Sally Wahkiacus, as well.

Also present at the meeting was Mary Dodds Schlick, a former Toppenish resident and expert on Plateau baskets, who wrote a book published by the University of Washington, "Columbia River Basketry, Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth."

The meeting was fruitful, which means people viewing the museum exhibit more than 30 years later have the benefit of knowing who originated most of the works of art. Lucile Wyers, Thomas and Jackson are now deceased, but Schlick lives in Stevenson.

Thats very Klikitat

Schlicks daughter, Kathryn Schlick Noe, recently traveled to Maryhill from her home in Oregon to tour the exhibit with Grafe. Agreeing that the workmanship was impressive, they both noted some uncommon features on several baskets, designed with animal, fish and bird figures. Most Klikitat baskets have designs made of geometric shapes, Grafe explained.

Pointing to a bag beaded with designs of swallows, Grafe remarked on the significance of the birds. "The story Ive been told is that swallows may appear when the salmon first appear in the river." He added, "But the bead maker isnt here to tell us."

Noe admired the signature craftsmanship on a large coiled cedar basket. "With an upside down V design and the bigness of the basket, thats very Klikitat."

A root storage bag, with figures of sturgeon and condors, also caught Noes eye. "Its gorgeous," she said.

An interesting story accompanies one of the largest coiled baskets. It was commissioned by John Wyers to give to Lucile on the day she married his son, Teunis, in 1937. Its a masterful work of art, with the recipients name woven prominently across the front. The irony is the maker spelled the name with two Ls," so for evermore the young bride owned a Lucille bag.

Not all of the collection is on display; many items are being stored for future exhibits, such as stone tools, dolls and more beaded and cornhusk bags.

"It was really exciting to get this (collection), and we wanted to get as much up as quickly as possible." Grafe explained.

What is up is most impressive, said Noe.

They spoke with their hands and made their deepest inner thoughts come to life.

With hemp, corn husk and bark, they wove or plaited or coiled imagery that will endure through the ages.

These were the artists of more than eight decades ago, the Klikitat women who left us a legacy of unequaled craftsmanship. Native American baskets, bags and other handiwork, done by a handful of women, are on display for the public for the first time at Maryhill Museum of Art.

About 100 Native American artifacts, known as the Wyers Collection, were donated to the museum in 2015, by Jan Wyers and Teunis Wyers, Jr., grandsons of the White Salmon man who accumulated the objects.

"Its an amazing gift," said Steven Grafe, Maryhills curator of art. "It keeps the collection local and keeps it on display."

It also serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage of the Pacific Northwest and, specifically, the Klikitats who are one of the 14 bands comprising the Yakama Indian Nation.

The Wyers collection includes four of the five different types of Klikitat baskets: corn husk, Sally bags, berry baskets and bark baskets. (The fifth type, twined hats, are not part of the assemblage.)

Grafe chose about 40 of the artifacts to exhibit this summer, ranging from coiled cedar-root baskets and twined storage bags to beaded flat bags.

The works represent women artists from the Mid-Columbia River, or Plateau, area and were created primarily in the 1930s or earlier. John Wyers, the collector, managed a hardware and merchandise cooperative in White Salmon before he died in 1960. During his 90-year life, he made friends with Klikitat basket makers, primarily women from three extended families — the Hunts, Cayuses and Thomases. Not only did he admire their craftsmanship, he also wanted to ensure their traditional art would be preserved.

Grafe said Wyers was known as a fair dealer, so weavers often brought their baskets and bags to him.

Wyers collected all kinds of Klikitat weavings — large baskets coiled with bear grass and cedar root, for transporting huckleberries; sally bags, twined round bags used to carry roots after they were dug from the ground in the spring; flat bags covered with glass-beaded designs and large bags twined from corn husks. A combination of utilitarian and beautiful, they were well-used and well-loved by Native American families.

Harvest seasons not only provided berries and roots, they also meant fish, elk, deer. The bounty had to be carried and then cooked, dried and stored for the winter. Women used the materials around them — bark, roots, grasses — to make containers, which are now lasting works of artistry.

In addition to the woven baskets and beaded bags on display, there are coiled cedar tea cups, small baskets with lids and oblong, hard-sided baskets made from cedar bark.

"Bark baskets served a different function," Grafe explained. "They could be made quickly in a pinch — a couple of hours — to hold something."

On the other hand, the technique employed in coiled cedar root and bear grass baskets took years to perfect. Grafe pointed out that a particularly noteworthy feature of the collection is that many of the basket weavers have been identified, with their names prominently exhibited beside the display case.

"We make a big deal about who makes things; its important to know the provenance of items," he said. "We have the names of the makers, and thats unusual." But the names of the makers were not always known, and their legacy might have remained anonymous had it not been for Lucile Wyers, who married Teunis Wyers, John Wyers son. After Teunis died, she inherited the collection and set about the task of figuring out who had crafted each basket. (Her father-in-law had known, but he hadnt recorded their names.)

So, in 1984, Lucile Wyers invited two renowned basket makers, Elsie Thomas and Thomas daughter-in-law, Nettie Jackson, to her house to examine the baskets and help determine the maker from the style, designs and technique.

Thomas, from Husum, was part of the Cayuse, Thomas and Hunt families. It turned out that she had made several baskets in the collection, and she also identified those made by her grandmother, Mary Cayuse; her mother, Lucy Thomas; and her two sisters, Julia and Sophie Thomas. Jackson, from White Swan, recognized work from her great grandmother, Sally Wahkiacus, as well.

Also present at the meeting was Mary Dodds Schlick, a former Toppenish resident and expert on Plateau baskets, who wrote a book published by the University of Washington, "Columbia River Basketry, Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth."

The meeting was fruitful, which means people viewing the museum exhibit more than 30 years later have the benefit of knowing who originated most of the works of art. Lucile Wyers, Thomas and Jackson are now deceased, but Schlick lives in Stevenson.

Thats very Klikitat

Schlicks daughter, Kathryn Schlick Noe, recently traveled to Maryhill from her home in Oregon to tour the exhibit with Grafe. Agreeing that the workmanship was impressive, they both noted some uncommon features on several baskets, designed with animal, fish and bird figures. Most Klikitat baskets have designs made of geometric shapes, Grafe explained.

Pointing to a bag beaded with designs of swallows, Grafe remarked on the significance of the birds. "The story Ive been told is that swallows may appear when the salmon first appear in the river." He added, "But the bead maker isnt here to tell us."

Noe admired the signature craftsmanship on a large coiled cedar basket. "With an upside down V design and the bigness of the basket, thats very Klikitat."

A root storage bag, with figures of sturgeon and condors, also caught Noes eye. "Its gorgeous," she said.

An interesting story accompanies one of the largest coiled baskets. It was commissioned by John Wyers to give to Lucile on the day she married his son, Teunis, in 1937. Its a masterful work of art, with the recipients name woven prominently across the front. The irony is the maker spelled the name with two Ls," so for evermore the young bride owned a Lucille bag.

Not all of the collection is on display; many items are being stored for future exhibits, such as stone tools, dolls and more beaded and cornhusk bags.

"It was really exciting to get this (collection), and we wanted to get as much up as quickly as possible." Grafe explained.

What is up is most impressive, said Noe.