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Cedar weaving – be it baskets, vests or hats – is not only a process, but an art.

For some in the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, it’s an art that’s passed down from one generation to the next.

On a recent Wednesday morning, teachers and principals from the La Conner and Concrete school districts tried their hands at weaving thin, moistened cedar strands.

It was harder than it looked, said La Conner Elementary School Principal Beverly Bowen.

Later, the educators took a journey in one of the tribe’s traditional canoes, reported the Skagit Valley Herald.

“(It’s) understanding us from our perspective,” Swinomish Chairman Brian Cladoosby said.

The lesson was part of a four-day teachers training session that is partnering Swinomish tribal leaders, faculty from Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education and Huxley College of the Environment, and educators from the La Conner and Concrete school districts for a project called “Science and the Swinomish.”