Side by side three treasures hang on the wall here in my studio to the right a whistle made of paired turkey leg bones bought at a Pomo gathering back in Mendocino hung on a strip of rawhide with shell beads dangling below the paired tubes notched at one end pitched differently so when they're blown the sound comes shrill and piercing

In the center a necklace I made back in the seventies of sinew strung with red and blue Hudson Bay trading beads and strips of abalone three strands designed to brush against eachother as the dancer sways making a soft music that the Yurok call the water sound

Hanging beside these treasures on its slender woven strap a coca bag the Quechua call chuspa made to hold the leaves that help with cold and hunger in the Altiplano high plain of the Andes

Exquisite craftsmanship blueblack figures set against a white background the weave is unimaginably fine six lines of prancing horses four to every line a middle column figures of ducks and tiny llamas on the inside a pocket for the catalyst called llucta made from quinoa ash

The bag speaks of an eye for beauty and the patience of the women who have kept this craft alive through unnumbered generations it brings to mind the vibrant dances of Bolivia cuecas and morenadas marineras and sayas the sound of panpipes drums and goat-hoof rattles music I once played and still hold precious as I hold this lovely chuspa