Tyrone Elliott/
Tu'wu'xu'wulth
My name is Tyrone Elliott; my Ancestral name is Tu'wu'xu'wulth, a name I've had passed to me by my father. I am the son of Violet Elliott, who is Snuneymux' and a highly-regarded weaver, and Joe Elliott, who is Quw'utsun and taught me all about harvesting and passed unto me a wealth of knowledge about local plants. As of writing this, in 2023, I am 29 years old My partner, Jasmine Dionne , is Nehiyaw and Metis from saka wiyinawak. You may also see their beaded work in the shop.
Jasmine is in a lot of ways responsible for my business. In 2018, I was an Environmental Health Technician for First Nations Health Authority. It was a good job. I felt like the work I did benefited communities in a direct fashion, but I was drained and dealing with some chronic health issues. Those issues lead to me taking time away from work. It was during this time off that I started to weave more often. The idea of making weaving my full-time venture began to permeate my mind, and I expressed as much. Jasmine encouraged me to go with my heart's desire, and so I did. I needed the push, or it would never have been. Also a special shoutout to my lifelong friend and roommate at the time, Jaxxen, for being another person adamant about my ability to land on my feet.
I was taught to harvest Cedar at the young age of 5, and taught some simple of the easier to grasp weaving techniques around then, too. It was my Teaching that Cedar is sacred to my people, and to Indigenous people all up and down the coast. It was of great importance to our vitality and not something to be taken lightly. As such, I was taught never to over-harvest, to listen to the tree for guidance, to accept what was given, and to trust the process. I was nearly always around my parents when they worked with Cedar, and picked up on the lessons they themselves were in the process of learning. Cedar has been vital to my living, just as it was to my Ancestors.
At age 13, I attended a Cedar hat workshop my mother was teaching. I hadn't made a hat myself before. It had seemed beyond me. I remember distinctly though, on the second day of the workshop, looking at the hat my mother had brought with her to demonstrate. I held that hat in my hand and studied it for what must have been 20 minutes at least. After a while, I looked at my mother and asked, "is it that easy?"
I didn't mean to dismiss the amount of work it takes to make a hat. It was just the first time I had actually broken down the process into digestable steps. 'Easy' wasn't the right word. It was still a struggle to do. It just made sense to me in that moment. From that point on, I assigned that state of mind into every aspect of my life. If you don't break something down into pieces, it can be overpowering.
I began co-facilitating with my mother about around the age of 20. It wasn't without trepidation. I'm no stranger to imposter syndrome. I didn't really think I should be up there. My mother's a master weaver. I couldn't compare. Over time though, I found that I have a breadth of knowledge I wasn't aware of.
I can speak to the special kind of community-building that Cedar weaving imparts. There is an extraordinary beauty in a group of First Nations people learning the practices of their Ancestors. I have never collected Cedar alone. My family has always gone as a unit, each and every one of us having our dedicated tasks.
I can speak to the confidence that has been gifted to me through weaving. Each and every task I have thrown my way, and I'm able to complete, I am able to attribute to that one day when I was 13 and thought, "is it that easy?"
I can speak to the feeling of kinship to my Ancestors that fills me every time I touch Cedar.
I can speak to the impacts that colonialism and climate change have had on the art form, and how weaving itself is resistance.
And, of course, I can speak to the actual weaving techniques that I know.
I hope you're leaving with an understanding that when you buy a pair of earrings, or a basket, or maybe a bracelet, that this has been a lifelong journey. There are a multitude of Teachings that go into weaving each piece, and everything I make I make with the best intentions. I do not weave if I am not able to put the entirety of my being into my Work.
With that said, please take a look at what I have! I hope you appreciate the work I put into my Work.
PS. If you are an Indigenous artist/craftsperson and are interested in trading, please e-mail me at [email protected]