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THE
ART
Alaskan Native Basketry is an art designed uniquely according to the
artist and region. It is a beautiful craft, each piece as a work of
art as individual as the designer. Since each item is handmade, there
are never two pieces exactly alike.
TYPES
OF BASKETRY
The baskets made by Alaska Natives are commonly formed with beach
grass, rye grass, cedar or birch bark, spruce or willow root and baleen.
The ornamentation is often made from fur, beads, dyed seal gut (intestine),
dyed grass, ivory or feathers.
THE
PROCESS
Grass, bark and roots can only be harvested when the time is right.
Grass must be dried and some is dyed. Roots must be split. Bark is
split and formed. The color of the birch bark usually indicates the
time of year it was harvested. The number of whales that can be taken
yearly is restricted, so the amount of baleen is limited. Each region
makes baskets in accordance with it local natural resources.
Once
the material for a basket is collected and prepared, the maker then
devotes hours, days, weeks and sometimes months to design a beautiful
piece of art. When crafting with baleen and willow root, often they
must put their masterpiece aside for days at a time to allow their
cut fingers to heal. These materials are very coarse and difficult
to work with. They are the most rare baskets to obtain since many
of the younger generation refuse to torture themselves as their ancestors
before them. They are also generally the most expensive because they
are labor intensive and in limited supply.
REGIONAL
ART
A basket's thickness and shape can be clues to its source. Baskets
from the village of Hooper bay typically feature thin coils and an
urn-like shape. Due to the availability of natural materials, each
region has a type of basket or design distinctive to that area. Examples
of this are baleen baskets, which are native to the northern coastal
whaling villages, birch bark baskets created by the interior Athabaskan
Indians and the grass baskets generally made in coastal and riverside
villages where beach grass abounds. The ornamentation also is usually
native to the area, however fur and other items are sometimes purchased
or traded from other regions. The originators of our beautiful works
include Aleut, Athabaskan, Yupik, Eskimo, Tlingit and Tsimshian artists.
YUPIK
BASKETS
These baskets are from the Bethel (interior) region also known as
the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Grasses are ready to cut in October, when
the first few frosts have rendered the blades brown or white. The
grasses for both coiled and twined baskets are harvested with traditional
curved knives known as ulus, sometimes known as women's knives. When
the women are done harvesting beach grass, local fields look locust-struck.
The grass is then braided and hung to dry and stored in plastic bags
where it will last for years without rotting as long as it is kept
dry. To prepare for sewing, grass is dampened and briefly stored in
a cool place to soften. Women begin by tying a knot in one end of
a strand, coiling the strand upon the knot and sewing the coils together
with a grass-threaded needle. Stitches usually are places side by
side and the coils spiral to for a cup. Come December, when the grasses
have dried and winter cold forces villagers inside, it's basket-making
time. Today, the baskets typically are not used in Yupik households
and are generally made to be sold.
ALASKA
NATIVES - REGIONS
There are several groups of Eskimos. They generally inhabit the coastal
regions of Alaska. Aleuts are associated with the Aleutian Chain including
Cold Bay, Attu, Shemya, etc. Their baskets are usually very small
and have a fine, tight weave. I have seen some artists that weave
around small bottles, therefore taking on the shape of the bottle.
Since these baskets are so intricate, they take a long time to make
and nice ones are very expensive. Yup'iks have the largest of the
native population. They include Central Yup'ik and Siberian Yup'ik.
Te center of the Yup'ik region is Bethel. There are numerous outlying
villages. The baskets from this region tend to have a small to medium
weave. The Yup'ik women of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in southwest
Alaska are among the finest basket weavers in the state.
Inupiaqs are North Slope dwellers. This is the area where you find
Baleen. Baleen, the black, plate like fiber known to the mysticeti
(humpback, right, bowhead and blue) whale, is used as a sieve to strain
out anything other than plankton, on which they live. There are many
uses for baleen, both practical and decorative. It is often very difficult
to work with and come in many art forms including basketry, etching,
jewelry and decorative wall plaques. Alaskan Indians are generally
found inland and southwest coastal areas. The largest group from the
southwest are the Tlingits. The two smaller groups are Haida and Tsimshian.
The baskets from this area are distinctive and unique. They are often
made of spruce and cedar.
The heart of the Athabascan area is Fairbanks, where birch bark baskets
are in abundance. Ornamentation from this area is often beautiful
and colorful bead work.
Anchorage Mahogany
Manor Bed and Breakfast Inn
204 East 15th Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Phone (907) 278-1111 Toll free 1-888-777-0346
Fax (907) 258-7877
innkeeper@mahoganymanor.com
www.mahoganymanor.com
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