Native American Baskets
For countless thousands of years, Native American basket weaving styles and techniques remained virtually unchanged. The craft was passed from one generation to the next with very little variation from teacher to student.
The traditional Native American basket varied by tribe, as did so many other arts, crafts, and styles of dress, housing, and ceremony. In fact, the tribal differences were proudly embodied as a way to distinguish the venerated works of one tribe from the others.
One aspect of difference was the materials used in the weaving of a Native American basket. The peoples of tribes located in wooded areas used twigs, barks, and vines from the plants and trees that were readily accessible, therefore easily harvested, in their habitat. Peoples of the grassy plains used different grasses, reeds, and other elements of the prairie to construct their baskets.
In most cases, a Native American basket served a functional purpose in everyday living. They were practical objects that made daily living more pleasant and convenient. The size and shape of the individual basket was determined by the need it was designed to meet.
For many, many years, a Native American basket was made for personal or local use but was sometimes traded from tribe to tribe. Some of the more prized baskets were embellished with beads, feathers, or other adornments indigenous to the area. These more fancifully decorated baskets were probably reserved for ceremonial use or trading between shamans or leaders of the different tribes.
The creative elements used in crafting a Native American basket took on a different role with the arrival of the Europeans and the western settlement of the American frontier. Basket weavers encountered the strange concept of making baskets for sale to the newcomers, who also brought their practice of commerce and money.
As these newcomers to the continent began buying and collecting baskets and transporting them across the country, styles became increasingly more blended. Materials, styles, and decorative embellishments from remote locations were brought in and incorporated into the works of one tribe to another as had never before happened. This blending of styles was strongly influenced by the preferences of the buyers and collectors of European descent.
In time, basket weaving has become a dying craft and styles are more blended and indistinguishable one tribe from the other than ever before. A beautifully crafted Native American basket, however, continues to be fashionable in many circles.
Please send any comments directly to the author, Joseph Paige.