Apache

BK-63 Pictured right is an excellent representation of Apache basketry. Willow and cottonwood were interchangeable in their work. The black design was woven from material stripped from the outer coat of the seed pod of devil's claw and the red from yucca root.

BK-64 This large storage basket is 20½ inches high. It is an outstanding example of the integration of zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and geometric design elements.

BASKETRY PHOTOGRAPHS BY JERRY JACKA

BK-65 Right. Most Indian baskets are woven in two colors. When a third color is added it is usually red and the vessel is then identified as a polychrome basket. Specimens, such as the shallow Apache baskets pictured here, are a valuable asset to any collection.

BK-66 The large Apache storage basket upper right stands approximately 36 inches tall. So carefully woven is this basket that the design on the lid perfectly matches, all the way around, the design on the rim and shoulder.

Apache basket design reflects the free and adventurous spirit of the people themselves. Bold and dynamic, these baskets were probably woven between 1900 and 1930. The examples on this page were photographed on the San Carlos Apache Reservation near the community of San Carlos.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JERRY JACKA

PRIZED BASKETS from page 16

West, down through the Pacific Coast states, and in the Southwest. Baskets made prior to this time were nearly all destroyed through the attrition of native use, and afterward cultural disintegration had advanced to the point that comparatively few baskets were woven. There are, however, some notable exceptions to this assertion. Dat So La Lee, the Washo weaver who had the distinction of being the only American Indian basketmaker to achieve even a semblance of international fame for her work, created her finest masterpieces during the first two decades of this century. During the same period, the Panamint Indians of Death Valley, California, were producing baskets whose technical excellence was seldom equalled in earlier times. (Some of the finest examples of their work of this period approach a count of sixty stitches per lineal inch.) Arizona's Pima Indians produced much of their finest basketry during the period of 1925 through 1940, and the Chemehuevi (located in the vicinity of Needles, California and Parker, Arizona) produced their most desirable work during the first forty years of this century. Many other tribes also had one or more competent weavers producing excellent basketry throughout varying portions of the post 1900 period, and in a few instances, right to the present time.

The reasons for the decline in both the quality and the quantity of Indian basketry are many. Perhaps the single most important factor was the breakdown of long established customs and values. This breakdown reduced the need for traditional basketry and, perhaps even more importantly, resulted in a lowered status for basketry in the eyes of the natives themselves. Additionally, some groups were relocated in areas where access to needed basketry materials was severely limited, and encroaching civilization often destroyed the easily accessible gathering areas of those who were not moved. Economic considerations played an increasingly important role as the various basket making tribes came under the influence of the economic system of the dominant culture. Weavers quickly learned that a few days of farm labor would pay an amount equivalent to that received for selling a basket that required weeks, or even months, to produce. Thus basketry fell from an exalted position in the economic scheme of native America, to the very bottom of the system that supplanted it. In many areas this occurred in the span of one lifetime.

It is our intent to present basketry in such a way that will enable the reader to better understand and appreciate the subject. The end result, it is hoped, will be a more general acceptance of basketry as an art form, and, perhaps, even some small measure of belated, but most deserved, recognition for the unnamed artists who created masterpieces of the caliber represented herein. To accomplish this end, a brief discussion of the aesthetics of basketry, plus an attempt to dispel some of the more persistent myths associated with the subject, may be of assistance.

Precisely what makes one basket more desirable than another, is an area in which experts often disagree. However, it is felt that there are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration during the process of suchan evaluation. The following list is arranged at random. How much weight to assign each factor is a matter of personal preference, and this is the area in which opinions differ widely.

Rare, indeed, is the basket that rates strongly in all ten areas; nevertheless, such baskets do exist. Many of the baskets reproduced in this edition are included in that select category.

A well known and respected dealer in Indian art once offered to stand upon a small basket in order to demonstrate to the writer how well it was woven. Apparently, at least to this dealer, such an act was the supreme test of quality, and of those baskets that passed, nothing more need be said. One, however, does wonder about the fate of those that failed his test. (Nearly every basket shown here would have failed noticeably.) This little anecdote well illustrates one of the more persistent myths which surround basketry. The idea that great tensile strength is of utmost importance, probably harks back to a rather general failure to recognize that all Indian basketry was not of a specifically utilitarian nature. Generally, Indian basketry is very delicate and fragile, and should at all times be handled with care. Flexing, or picking up a basket by the rim, can do irreparable damage to the fragile vegetal fibers from which it is constructed.

Another often heard myth states, "The women tediously weave into their baskets the legends and traditions of their forefathers. They hold these tales as sacred, and the members of the tribe are silent as to their meaning." In truth, most of the sacred tales were woven by colorful and imaginative purveyors of Indian crafts in quest of the traditional dollar. The designs found on Indian baskets are, for the most part, merely decorative devices.

A third widely embraced myth is that, "purposely none of the old Indian basketry designs were made complete, or without imperfections." (Strong evidence points to the same origin as above.) While this idea may provide a delightful explanation for a poorly conceived or executed design, it has little basis in fact.

Studying and collecting Indian baskets can be a very gratifying and broadening experience. In a world that is moving ever closer to homogeneity, racially, culturally, and linguistically, it becomes increasingly imperative to preserve and document man's past contributions to human knowledge, art, and history. Researching a single basket back to its origin, use, and time of creation can introduce one to a totally different way of life, in a very different world than that in which we now live. The end result might be at least a partial removal of the cataracts of ethnocentrism from the eyes of the researcher, and the preservation of something of beauty and worth to pass on to future generations.