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Native American Baskets Research Paper

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A Living Tradition of the Native American Basketry Household baskets have been made by anonymous Native American artists for practical purposes for many generations, are reflective of their cultural understanding of the world, and carry symbolism which is important to study if one wishes to understand their outlook on life. Of various shapes and sizes, they are usually richly embellished and colored with meaningful designs and patterns, which were considered to be so important that instructions on how to make them was fiercely protected intergenerationally. The ornaments usually illustrated either an artist’s self-expression or a tribal myth, and frequently consisted of geometric, zoomorphic, or anthropomorphic figures. A famous basketmaker …show more content…

For example, Tlingit tribe from the Pacific Northwest utilized for this purpose spruce root, bear grass or canary grass, whereas Luiseno tribe from the Southern California gathered coiled sumac and natural juncus to make baskets. Whether as a gift or as a household item, most of them required many hours of work. Baskets made by California tribes are considered to be among the most well-known. They were usually crafted by women, who needed them for multiple household purposes “from cradles to cooking to storage …show more content…

And it is one of the most regularly techniques that is being used. The reason is because it can be found everywhere. It can bend, it is flexible and when it is done correctly it is very sturdy. Materials like Oak, hickory and willow are sometimes hard to find, but reed is plenty and can be shaped and cut to any size and shape. People use flat reed, and that is used for most square baskets, oval reed is used too and that is used for round baskets, round reed is used to twine. Another reason why reed is preferred is because it can be dyed without any problem. Wicker baskets are made most often with reed. There is another kind of weaving that is called twinning and it is also a tecniques that is used in most wicker baskets. The Wicker baskets are used to store grain, beer and in some sacrificing tribes they store the heads of the sacrifice. Baskets can be created from many types of plants: dog rose, honeysuckle, blackberry briars all that is need to be done is scrape off the thorns and many creepers. Willow was used because it is flexibility and the ease with which it could be grown and harvested. In England Willow baskets are referred to as wickerwork. In some areas where the plant as become serious pest Water hyacinth, is now being used as a base material. For example, In Nigeria, Ibadan, a group led by Achenyo Idachaba has been creating

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