Rosie Cayou James had the unique ability to effortlessly cite tribal history and cultural traditions while remaining keenly focused on the future, her insightful views the subject of countless media interviews and accounts through the years.
An endeared figure on both sides of Swinomish Channel and throughout the San Juan Islands — an arc that encompasses her ancestral homelands — James died on Dec. 2, one day after her 75th birthday, at her Guemes Island home, surrounded by loving family and friends.
“Sweet Rosie,” as she was known by her many admirers, had suffered the loss of her life partner, revered tribal artisan Bill Bailey, also 75, just nine days earlier.
James had bravely fought a lingering illness during the past year. Her characteristic optimism and devotion to preserving Indigenous history and traditions never wavered, however.
In her penultimate year, after turning 73, James sat down for an extensive interview with the Lopez Island Family Reserve Center. At that time, she noted that her father and paternal grandfather were from Orcas Island and that Guemes, which she often referred to as “the healing island,” was the birthplace of her maternal grandfather.
One of the prouder moments in her life occurred in 2022 when Washington state officials renamed the passage between Orcas and Shaw islands after James’ great-uncle, Henry Cayou, an early Samish Nation leader. Henry Cayou is believed to have been among the first Native American elected officials in Washington state, having served for three decades as a San Juan County Commissioner, during which he helped bring electrical service to the islands.
James and Bailey were regular participants at the annual Salish Sea Day program at Bowman Bay each June. The family-oriented event was the ideal opportunity for James to celebrate Coast Salish culture and share the connection Northwest tribes have always had with the area’s waterways.
“I have my fun by teaching and learning,” James, who attended Skagit Valley College, told this reporter during the 2015 Salish Sea Day program. “I tell my children that they must respect and love all their ancestral lineage because our ancestors are our guides.”
James generously gave her time — not to mention ample portions of her amazing frybread — with those wishing to learn the traditions and teachings of her ancestors and how to incorporate them into their lives.
“Blending the knowledge of our ancestors with the new cultures is a delicate balance,” she said in the Lopez Island Family Reserve Center interview. “It’s a balance between honoring the old ways and weaving them into the fabric of modern life.
“If we cling to the past without adjusting,” James stressed, “we lose something vital.”
But much of James’ mission was to reinforce what she saw as time-honored truths — among them the need to respect the lasting achievements of forebears and the responsibility to be good stewards of the planet.
“The first thing we need to do is observe,” James said. “Take time each day, even if it’s only for a minute, to think about the earth.
“Climate change is a global crisis, and it will not stop unless humans begin to give back to the earth.”
James often expressed pride in her Coast Salish background.
“I don’t particularly identify as Samish, Swinomish or Lummi,” she told the Lopez Island Family Resource Center. “I’m a descendant of the Coast Salish people.”
James termed her connection to Indigenous homelands as both profound and spiritual. She said her move to Guemes Island, just north of Anacortes, was to honor the ancestors who in prior generations were removed from the region’s islands.
A traditional foods specialist and esteemed spiritual advisor, James’ influence extended throughout and beyond Indian Country. When news of her passing became public, dozens of people from all walks of life took to social media to extend their condolences.
They remembered her variously as “a wonderful human being,” “sweet, sweet lady,” “kind soul,” “legend” and someone “who touched the lives of so many.”
James’ impact was perhaps best expressed by Swinomish Tribal Community member Dave Johnston.
“She had so much love in her heart (and) she gave it freely,” Johnston wrote in a Dec. 2 social post. “Today the world lost a beautiful human being. Her time here was spent well, and she did so much for so many.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
