The Basket Makers
Since* early limes basketry lias been
I he chief marketing craft of the
Cherokee.
The handle and ribs arc made from
the strong long-lasting hickory tree, a
hole is cut in one end of the handle,
which goes around under the basket.
The other end of handle locks into it.
That makes an almost indestructible
basket foundation. The rim is put in
place. The ribs are placed to give the
shape to it. The "splints" are woven in
going over and under the ribs, starting
at the bottom and making the designs.
By
СОМЧЛКЕЕ
K. II №11 FILE
Mrs. Addie Hornbucklc: "My
mother (Mrs. Mary Washington
Queen) sold baskets in Asheville, fifty
miles away, when I was a little girl. She
would weave a load of basketsand take
me with her to sell them. We would
walk across Soco Mountain: go on
down through Maggie Valley (20 miles)
and get on the train at the Lake
Junaluska Depot. I liked to go with her
to help carry baskets and ride the
train."
Mrs. Queen would peddle the bas¬
kets all day in Asheville, then they
would ride back on the late train to
Lake Junaluska. Sometimes they’d
walk on home in the dark. Other times
spend the night with friends in Maggie
Valley, and climb up and over Soco
Mountain and back home the next
morning.
Mrs. Mary Washington Queen was a
tall, refined, deeply spiritual Cherokee
Queen of the Smoky Mountains. She
spoke her own beloved Cherokee lan¬
guage — and was a direct desccndcnt
of Tsali. We knew her well. Two of her
daughters. Lottie Stamper, and Stacy
Catolstcr became highly skilled basket
weavers. Lottie taught basket weaving
at the Cherokee Indian High School for
more than twenty years.
Cherokccs are skilled in many
crafts: Wood and stone carving mask
— making, pottery, stonemasonry.
cornshuck dolls, cane mat wall hang¬
ings. beadwork. basket weaving, etc.
From early times until the present bas¬
ketry has been their chief marketing
craft.
"I have carried a cane "Cross On
The Hill" design tote basket for twenty
years. It is still beautiful. Lizzie
Youngbird made it.
It Takes Patience
The materials used in basket mak¬
ing are: White oak. hickory, river
cane, and honeysuckle. To make a
white oak ribbed basket a small
straight grained oak tree must be
selected, cut down and dragged down
the mountainside. (This is usually done
by Cherokee menfolk.)
The small tree is then split into
fourteen parts. Next, each piece is split
down to make narrow thin long
"splints" — They must be scraped
with a knife on both sides to make them
very smooth. This takes time! I tried it
once, scraping one side of a split for
one hour and likewise on the other
side. It still needed more scraping — so
I gave up basketry for lack of Cherokee
patience.
Nature’s Colors
The day before weaving begins,
splints arc dyed by using "nature col¬
ors". A big black iron wash pot in the
back yard is filled with water. A
wood-burning fire is started in and
around the rocks, holding up the
washpot. If the splints arc to be dark
brown, black walnut bark or root is put
into the boiling w'ater. The splints are
added and boiled with it.
A stick is used to turn the split over
and over, so the color will dye it
evenly. Vegetable dyes used at other
times arc: bloodroot (red brown color),
butternut (black), yellow' root (Maize
In the Sworn County town of Cherokee, located on Highway 441, the Quollo Ait» ond Croft» Co-op offers
authentic boiket» ond other hondcrofted product» of the trodilionol Cherokee «kill», (photo courtesy U.S.
Dep't. of Inferior, Indian Art» ond Croft» Board)
14
THE STATE. AUGUST 1981