31953
Accession Number
16878
Author
Wilson, Renate
Title Of Article Chaper
Basket makers of Mount Currie
Title Of Journal Book
The Beaver
Pages
26-33
Language Of Text
English
Literature Type
Serial
Literature Level
Analytic
Abstract
This journal article describes basketry of the Indians of Mount Currie, who belong to the Lillooet Indians of the Nation of Interior Salish, British Columbia. Cedar-root basketry, produced by the women during the winter months still flourishes. Basketry is made of cedar roots and cedar wood, decorations from the bark of wild cherry trees and wild straw and handles from tanned deer hide. A first-hand account describes the gathering of roots, their cleaning and splitting. Cedar wood forms thin basket splints. Wild straw is boiled and then set aside. Wild cherry bark, normally a light color, is placed in a rusty bucket, covered with earth and buried. The cherry bark darkens under these conditions. In the production of an object, split cedar roots are coiled around splints. The decorative pattern of alternating light (wild straw) and dark (cherry wood) is worked in. Basketry is used for berry collecting, as cradles and for general purpose containers. More modern forms and designs are now produced as well as traditional work. This is a reference for the documentation of North American basketry techniques.
pub_id
31953