By Wade Sheldon; photos courtesy of Elishia Stewart.
The upcoming General Council meeting on April 12 at the Tulalip Resort Casino is set to showcase the creativity and talents of tribal members through thoughtful gifts. These gifts include an array of delicious jams from local entrepreneur Elishia Stewart and her business, Wicked Jamz and More.
Elishia reflects on turning her passion for canning into a thriving business, stating, “I’ve been canning foods my whole life, off and on. As a kid, my mom taught my siblings and me how to can fruits and vegetables. She always made freezer jam, but I make shelf-stable jam because I don’t want to use freezer space. After making some for my nieces and nephews, I thought maybe I should turn this into a business.”
Elishia enjoys this process as a form of meditation. She describes it as follows: “I do it because I like it. Everybody has their own thing they do for meditation or therapy. Creating jam is meditative; it allows me to zone out and focus while shutting everything else out. It’s nice.”
She emphasizes the importance of quality in her ingredients, sharing her philosophy about crafting jams. Elishia noted, “The quality of the fruit is essential. Be selective about the combinations that you use in your jams. One of the things that I did that my mom didn’t do was make the jalapeno flavors. My favorite is raspberry jalapeno.”
She explained the selections made for the General Council gift: “The six flavors chosen are blackberry, strawberry, mixed berry, mango jalapeno, raspberry jalapeno, and straight jalapeno. I have 15 different jams, and those are the six that they picked.”
Reflecting on her significant order of 1200 jars of jam for the upcoming General Council meeting, Elishia, said, “I saw the bid and thought, they aren’t asking for snack food. But everybody’s art is different; I don’t carve or create paintings. I showed them this is what I do, and my bid was accepted. I laughed and thought, oh wow, here we are, let’s do this.”
“Having the recipes down to a science helps me ramp up production,” she continued. “Time management has been crucial. I also have a good vendor that lets me buy in bulk. Ensuring a plentiful and efficient supply chain has been vital to reducing stress.”
Santana Sheldon, Executive Office Director for the Board of Directors, talked about the initiative of gifting tribal member-crafted items, stating, “We aimed to highlight the artist’s work and reaffirm our connection to our culture and way of life. The 1855 Treaty of Point Elliot will be included inside the box, providing important context when members take out the items.”
She outlined the logistics, stating that 1200 boxes would be available as a thank-you gift for tribal members who come to vote. Each box will include an item from everyone contributing gifts for the General Counsel meeting and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. “This gift serves as appreciation for their engagement by attending the meeting.”
Still to come in this six-part artist series are Walter Moses’s Cedar Clappers, a beautifully crafted musical instrument that resonates with harmony; Jen Tracy’s orca paintings, which capture the grace and power of these magnificent creatures; and Bibianna Ancheta’s homemade chapstick, made with natural ingredients to keep lips soft and hydrated.
If you want to try Elishia’s jam but cannot make it to the General Council meeting, you can reach out to her via Facebook by searching for Elishia Stewart.