Ed has woven baskets for over thirty years. He learned the art from his great-grandmother, Julia Jacob of the Suquamish Tribe, who raised him. When his Great Grandmother's hands weakened with age, she told Ed he would have to make the baskets. He was 15 years old.

As his skill improved, he found it to be a very pleasurable and challenging experience. Grandma passed away in 1960, and basketmaking fell by the wayside as Ed graduated from high school, entered the Marine Corps and then the working world. Some years later in 1969 he started to revive the old art. He says he almost waited too long. It took him four years to regain the knowledge and skills it takes to weave a nice looking, dependable clam basket that he knows Grandma would be proud of.

Now Ed has been weaving baskets for over thirty years. He has learned to make a wide variety of artifacts including the open weave burden basket, straight and crossed warp clam gathering baskets, clothing, and hats. His materials are the bark, limbs, and roots of the western red cedar, beargrass, sweetgrass, wild cherry bark, cattail and horse tail root.

Many people have learned about Ed's basket weaving through classes, demonstrations, and school presentations. To him, weaving baskets and carving canoes and paddles is relaxing and challenging. Click on his picture to see the details of his cedar bark vest and basket.

Among Ed's many awards are:

• 1983 Man of the Year Award by Indianola
• 1986 Honorarium by Seattle Central Community College
• 1988 "Honored Artist" by Native American Art Fair, Suquamish
• 1998 Governor's heritage Award of Washington State

Here is more of Ed's work.