Essie Pinola Parrish (1902–1979), was a
Kashaya Pomo spiritual leader and exponent of
native traditions. She was also a notable
basket weaver.
Biography
Parrish was born Essie Pinola in 1902 at the
Stewarts Point Rancheria in
Stewarts Point, California
Stewarts Point is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States and part of the "historic" Salt Point Township. Stewarts Point is located on the Pacific coast and California State Route 1, west of Healdsburg. Stewarts ...
.
At the age of 6, she was recognized as a
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...
by the Kashaya and eventually became the spiritual leader of the Kashaya community. She was considered a
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
and a skilled
interpreter of dreams.
Parrish was also a healer and a teacher.
Parrish educated Kashaya (Kashia) children in the
Kashaya Pomo language. She collaborated with
Robert Oswalt, a linguist at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, to write a dictionary of Kashaya Pomo. Her work on Kashaya Pomo is in the
California Language Archive. She helped create over 20 anthropological films documenting Pomo culture. She lectured at
the New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1972.
Parrish was well known for her expertise in basket weaving.
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
was among her collectors.
See also
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List of Native American artists
This is a list of visual artists who are Native Americans in the United States. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 defines "Native American" as being enrolled in either federally recognized tribes or state recognized tribes or "an individua ...
*
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes ...
References
External links
Redwood bark dolls made by Essie Pinola Parrish includes photos of Essie Parrish
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Essie Pinola
1902 births
1979 deaths
Female Native American leaders
Native American basket weavers
Pomo people
Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America
20th-century American women artists
Native American women artists
Women basketweavers
20th-century Native Americans
20th-century Native American women