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Cultural Context

basketry; storage; plant technology; economic activity

Description

Octagonal shaped coiled cedar root basket with an attached lid. Parallel slat base and lid with overcast rims on both the lid and the basket. Red cherry bark beading on every other slat on the lid. Vertically connected chevron shaped designs in cherry bark with canary grass in the centre divided down the centre by a cherry bark line. Two leather hinges on one side attach the lid to the basket with a leather tie on the opposite side.

Specific Techniques

Sto:lo Elder and basket maker Rosaleen George notes that this basket is also decorated with the banneq' technique. This technique is also known as imbrication and involves folding the decorative elements back and forth along the coil as it is sewn to the previous row. Another Sto:lo basket maker, Wendy Ritchie, notes that this basket was made by a talented weaver, but that less care was taken in preparing materials for imbrication. The cherry bark was not scraped well enough and that is why parts of it are greyish in colour. The dye did not take to the whole bark.

History Of Use

Coiled basketry traditionally had many uses. It was used for storage of foods, medicines and personal belongings. Some baskets were used for cooking and boiling water, while others had more private uses. Haeberlin and Teit (1928) suggest that in the past not all women were basket makers, but that the skill became more widespread during the early and middle twentieth century when basketry was highly collectible and it became a source of income for many local First Nations women. Basket making declined after the 1950s, but it is still present in many Coast Salish communities and interest is growing.