Various Baskets, Plastic, Lumber, and Gourd, AbenakiA History of Adaptation
Change through time. In nature, these three words define the process required of all living things for survival. For the Abenaki, they represent the survival of a culture.…
Berry Basket, 1840, Ash Splint & Hong Kong Cord, Abenaki, Housed at the Hopkinton Historical Society
Made from ash splint and detailed with Hong Kong Cord, this berry basket stands out because of the handwritten note on its ash splints that names…
Fancy Hamper, c. 1900, Ash Splint, Abenaki, Housed at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum
This basket, housed at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, is a fancy basket hamper decorated with cowiss that dates to c. 1900s. Cowiss is the Abenaki word for the…
Hat Basket, c.1860-1880, Ash Splint, Abenaki, Housed at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum
This hat basket, one that would have been sold to tourists, nicely illustrates Abenaki basketry's functional and aesthetic appeal. The chain link design on the…
Miniature Baskets, Ash splint and Sweetgrass, AbenakiJeanne Brink's Famous Abenaki Baskets
Abenaki basketmaker, Jeanne Brink keeps her culture and her grandmother's spirit alive by weaving baskets (like the ones shown below) with traditional…
Joseph Laurent (1839-1917) was chief of the Abenaki village of Odanak in Quebec, Canada from 1880 to 1892. He was a teacher and leader in the Abenaki community, and Odanak Nation throughout his life. Laurent, also known as Sozap Lolô, is best known…
Pack Basket, Ash Splint, Abenaki
The pack basket with a leather harness shown in the picture below is particularly striking and showcases Bill Gould's skill in basketmaking. Used for carrying supplies while out in the woods, the pack basket is 20…
Sweetgrass Fancy Work Basket, Ash Splint and Sweetgrass, Abenaki
Before the colonists arrived in America, the Abenaki tribe of New England lived an environmentally efficient and culturally sustainable lifestyle (Porter). Unfortunately, with the…
Basket, Ash Splint and Sweetgrass, Abenaki
This basket, by Denise Pouliot, showcases a combination of sweetgrass and ash splint. Behind its deceptively simple yet beautiful design is the story of Abenaki basketmaking tradition. Abenaki basketmaking…