Pendletons and Ph.D.s

How one single mom uses her sewing machine to support her family, business and doctoral degree

By Jarrette Werk, Underscore News / Report for America

When Sydelle Harrison was just two years old, her mother made her a handcrafted jacket from Pendleton blankets. The next year, Harrison’s mother passed away. That jacket was one of the final gifts she ever received from her mother.

Years later, a new mom herself, Harrison began sewing as a hobby to keep busy. She learned through watching videos on YouTube how to create purses and jackets using Pendleton blankets, fabric and leather fringe.

Then Harrison’s father surprised her with the jacket made by her mother all those years earlier. Holding the toddler-sized garment in her hands, she felt a renewed connection with her mother. She resolved to carry on the tradition by teaching her three young daughters how to sew.

The jacket and its connection to motherhood inspired Harrison’s clothing business, Kanaine. She set out to create unique heirloom pieces that families can cherish forever.

Named after the ridge she grew up on in the foothills of the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon that honors Walla Walla Chief Jim Kanine, Kanaine blends western influences from Harrison’s childhood with modern streetwear designs.

“It’s not just clothes,’” Harrison said. “It’s not just bags. These are a piece of me and people need to know my story. They need to know where I came from.”

As an only child growing up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Harrison reflects on her childhood as a time of creativity and hard work. That experience helped her balance becoming a single mother, business owner and Ph.D. candidate – all at the same time.

Harrison has turned her hobby into a thriving business. Through her creations, she is honoring her family, her people and her culture. And with her academic research, she’s providing accurate Indigenous representation in higher education and data collection.

Balancing business with school

Harrison is finishing up her Ph.D. at Oregon State University with a research focus on murders among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in Oregon. Her dissertation project analyzes data in the Oregon Violent Death Reporting System to understand the factors behind the high rates of violent deaths among AI/AN people in the Pacific Northwest.

She also examines data in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The system combines data from death certificates, medical examiners, law enforcement and toxicology reports into a single anonymous database.

Undercounts of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are common. Police and healthcare workers routinely fail to record tribal affiliation on death certificates. Also, family members and loved ones often do not reveal their tribal nápt (second, two)

Pilot Rock honors 1978 state champion basketball team

Nixyaawii Community School Seniors

Boys Basketball

Dylan Abrahamson

Aaron Barkley

Kaiwin Clements

Saint Schimmel

Girls Basketball

Mersayus Hart

Sistine Moses

Grace Moses

Kyella Picard

Sophia Bronson

Izabelle Sigo

Diamond Greene

Layla Sohappy

Alayna Bevis

On January 20, 2020, Pilot Rock High School inducted the 1977-78 girls state champion basketball team into their Hall of Fame. All ten players were in attendance, including CTUIR tribal member Jue Jue Withers, team manager Melsue Barkley, and tribal employee Cindy Hamilton. The Lady Rockets were a basketball powerhouse from the mid-70s to the early 80s, first entering the state tournament scene in 1976, when they won the consolation title. In 1977, they placed third, and the following year they won the 1978 Class A title. From 1979-81, they placed second.

DID YOU KNOW?

From Wiyaxayxt / Wiyaakaa’awn / As Days Go By: Our History, Our Land, Our People -- The Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla

Wiyaxayxt (Columbia River Sahaptin) and Wiyaakaa’awn (Nez Perce) can be interpreted to mean “as the days go by,” “day by day,” or “daily living.” They represent the meaning of the English term “history” in two of the common languages still spoken on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.