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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
8/11/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - An article of common use which has evolved into a work of art is the subject of a new book published by the NSU Press at Northwestern State University.
The Work of Tribal Hands: Southeastern Indian Split Cane Basketry was edited by NSU Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Regional Folklorist Dayna Bowker Lee and Professor of Anthropology Hiram F. Gregory. Lee and Gregory along with 13 other contributors authored the book.
Authors include basket makers, ethnologists and tribal marketers who share their expertise on basketry traditions and on marketing southeastern Indian split cane baskets. Contributors were Thomas Colvin of Mandeville, John Paul Darden, Scarlett Darden and Melissa Darden Brown of Charenton, Betty Dupree of Cherokee, N.C., Dustin Fuqua of Spring Bayou, Marshall Gettys of Norman, Okla., and Sarah Hill of Atlanta, Ga.
Also contributing were Robert W. Neuman of Natchitoches, Tim Oakes of the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tim Poulsen of Alberta, Canada, Debra G. Thomas of Natchez, Miss., and Gary White Deer of Ada, Okla.
The book grew out of a conference funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in which Native American basket makers from the Southeastern United States met at Northwestern in 2002.
"They talked about mutual problems including the shortage of raw materials and marketing strategies," said Gregory. "They also compared what they did to what others did. In response to issues and ideas raised at the conference, we decided that a publication to present information on these various issues to a wider audience would be beneficial.
According to Gregory, split cane baskets were used for winnowing corn or rice, storing crops or other goods or for ceremonial religious purposes.
"They were an integral part of Southeastern Indian life," said Gregory. "Baskets were used for trading with non-Indians. In hard times, they helped tribal people survive by trading them for food. Baskets are a symbol of identity for the people. In some families, they are passed from generation to generation."
River or swamp cane, a type of bamboo used to create the baskets, is peeled into strips and allows the maker to be creative.
"What is distinctive about cane baskets is that the material has a flat element that allows more elaborate weaves," said Lee. "Designs are woven as they would be on a piece of cloth. Baskets have geometric designs or animals such as frogs, snakes or alligators which are important to Native Americans."
The oldest known baskets date to approximately 3,000 years ago, Gregory said.
"Native Americans in this region always made cane baskets because the people used materials around them to survive," he said. "The southwest is known for pottery and the southeast is known for baskets."
Over the centuries, the baskets evolved from items used in everyday life to works prized by collectors.
Skilled basket makers can earn hundreds of dollars for a basket, but one problem in finding a steady supply of cane.
"Cane grows wild in stream beds or in bottom lands," said Lee. "Many areas where the cane grows were clear cut for agricultural use. The use of herbicides was also a factor. Artists are more mobile now. At one time, they could only gather cane within walking distance, but now basket makers can explore more remote areas."
The U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service is working with the Mississippi Choctaw and the Chitimacha of St. Mary Parish to cultivate cane for baskets on tribal lands.
The book has chapters on the basketry traditions of the Chitimacha, the Jena Band of Choctaw, the Choctaw of St. Tammany Parish, the Oklahoma Choctaw, the Koasati, Cherokee and Caddo.
The 247-page book has 147 illustrations including Native American basket makers and baskets from the collection of the Williamson Museum and the La. Regional Folklife Program at NSU, the Oakland Plantation Collection at the Cane River Creole National Historical Park Curation Facility, Melrose Plantation and several private collections.
The book was produced in partnership between the La. Regional Folklife Program and Williamson Museum at NSU and was funded by grants from the Lower Mississippi Delta Region Initiatives of the National Park Service, and the USDA Forest Service. Assistance was provided by the Cane River Creole National Historical Park.
The Work of Tribal Hands: Southeastern Indian Split Cane Basketry sells for $30. For more information, contact the NSU Press at (318) 357-4586 or e-mail sepulvado@nsula.edu.