Archaeology of Southeast Alaska

BASKETRY OF THE NORTHWEST COAST

COLLECTING SPRUCE ROOT

Must go out during the spring or early summer The best spots were near sandy shores A digging stick was used to help get the roots

PREPARING FOR STORAGE

Spruce roots would be held over the coals of a fire until the bark starts to peel The roots would then be pulled through an ena, a split stick or board stuck into the ground, to remove outer bark They would then be split once and then coiled

PREPARING FOR WEAVING

Before weaving, the roots from storage would be split additional times The split roots would be divided into warps and wefts

WEAVING WITH SPRUCE ROOT

With the weft, the weaver would begin twining around the warps Different twining techniques were used for the different types of baskets

DECORATIVE ELEMENTS
< Skip Stitch
(Alaska State Museum 2001-7-1)

False Embroidery >

(Alaska State Museum II-B-1696)

< Painting
Isabel & Charles Edenshaw (Alaska State Museum II-B811)

TLINGIT & HAIDA BASKETRY DIFFERENCES

(Alaska State Museum II-B-1696)

BASKETS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Baskets were used for: Storage Food gathering Serving food Cooking Ceremonies Cradles
(Alaska State Museum II-B-480)

(Alaska State Museum II-B-311)

A hole was dug in the ground, and in this the cooking basket was placed... After the pot had been thus secured against accident, the food and water were placed in it, and with a pair of wooden tongs the stones which had been heated were dropped into the cooking. (Shotridge 170)

BASKETS NOT IN USE

Baskets that were not being used were dampened and folded away and stored.

(Alaska State Museum II-B-420)

(Alaska State Museum II-B-1324)

THORNE RIVER BASKET

Oldest basket found on the Northwest Coast Dates to be approximately 5,400 years old Found in 1994 by archaeologist David Putman

Reconstruction drawing of the Thorne River Basket by Margaret Davidson

Interpretation of the Thorne River Basket made by Delores Churchill

(Alaska State Museum 2004-17-1)

BARANOFF ISLAND BASKET

BASKETRY ORIGIN LEGENDS

Tlingit Legend:
There was once a girl with so much beauty that everyone desired her, even Sun. So Sun took her as his wife and they lived in the Sky-Land for many years and had many children. But the children were of Earth, and the mother worried for them. One day in the field while she was worrying, she idly and unknowingly wove a basket. Her husband knew she was worried, so he took the basket and made it large enough to hold his wife and children. In this basket, they were lowered back to Earth (to the Yakutat area). This is where the first basket came from.

Haida Legend:
In early spring when everyone was hungry and there was little food, a little girl took some food when she was not supposed to. Her mother caught her and scratched her face, so the girl and her older sister ran away. They came to a place to rest, and there met a young man. They told him what had happened. He told the older girl to weave a small basket around her thumb and to fill it with the food growing in that area. They did so, and as they filled the basket, it kept growing larger and heavier with all of the food. They went back to their village to get help to bring back their basket full of food. Everyone feasted and celebrated.

KKW TLA MOTHER BASKET

The Mother Basket is an at.owu of the Whale House of the Gaanaxteid clan of Klukwan, Alaska. Honors the story of the Mountain Dweller

CHANGE IN BASKETRY

Around the mid-1800s, basketry was no longer needed for utilitarian purposes Basketry became popular among tourists and collectors The women no longer made baskets for use, but to sell

BASKETRY TODAY

The high demand for basketry died out during the Great Depression The knowledge of basketry almost died out as the elders started dying out Basketry was revitalized by Selina Peratrovich and her daughter Delores Churchill Today, basketry is an art
(Alaska State Museum 90-5-1)