November 2009 - National Native American Heritage Month

I just read this over on Pam Zimmerman's blog, Catching the Moon: Weaving My Life.

Three of the Native American baskets I have in my personal collection.

NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2009
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

The indigenous peoples of North America -- the First Americans -- have woven rich and diverse threads into the tapestry of our Nation's heritage. Throughout their long history on this great land, they have faced moments of profound triumph and tragedy alike. During National Native American Heritage Month, we recognize their many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices, and we pay tribute to their participation in all aspects of American society.

This month, we celebrate the ancestry and time-honored traditions of American Indians and Alaska Natives in North America. They have guided our land stewardship policies, added immeasurably to our cultural heritage, and demonstrated courage in the face of adversity. From the American Revolution to combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have fought valiantly in defense of our Nation as dedicated servicemen and women. Their native languages have also played a pivotal role on the battlefield. During World Wars I and II, Native American code talkers developed unbreakable codes to communicate military messages that saved countless lives. Native Americans have distinguished themselves as inventors, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and scholars. Our debt to our First Americans is immense, as is our responsibility to ensure their fair, equal treatment and honor the commitments we made to their forebears.

The Native American community today faces huge challenges that have been ignored by our Government for too long. To help address this disparity, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocates more than $3 billion to help these communities deal with their most pressing needs. In the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, my Administration has proposed over $17 billion for programs carried out by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and other Federal agencies that have a critical role to play in improving the lives of Native Americans. These programs will increase educational opportunities, address the scourge of alcohol abuse and domestic violence, promote economic development, and provide access to comprehensive, accessible, and affordable health care. While funding increases do not make up for past deficiencies, they do reflect our determination to honor tribal sovereignty and ensure continued progress on reservations across America.

As we seek to build on and strengthen our nation-to-nation relationship, my Administration is committed to ensuring tribal communities have a meaningful voice in our national policy debates as we confront the challenges facing all Americans. We will continue this constructive dialogue at the White House Tribal Nations Conference held in Washington, D.C., this month. Native American voices have echoed through the mountains, valleys, and plains of our country for thousands of years, and it is now our time to listen.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2009 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 27, 2009, as Native American Heritage Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

Coiled Zambian Basket

11" dia. x 11" h w/o handle

This beautiful coiled basket was a gift from my aunt and uncle a few Christmases ago. A coworker of my aunt was going to Africa so she asked her if she would look for a basket for her nephew. The poor woman had to drag the basket all over her vacation, but according to my aunt she took it as a quest and had fun looking for and acquiring the basket. Somewhere I have a photo of her with the basket on safari. I thought it was inside the basket, but it isn't so I will have to track it down.

Here is what the note inside the basket said:

Makenge basket, hand-woven from the roots of the Makenge tree by the women of the Upper Zambezi River region of Zambia. Makenge baskets take about a week eat to make and are used to harvest, winnow and store grain. A newlywed bride may be given several baskets by her in-laws, which she will eventually pass down to her children. Makenge baskets are very strong and durable which, if required, can be washed or scrubbed with no ill effect. Colors are obtained by boiling the roots in various barks.

The basket is definitely sturdy and well made. The lid fits on like Tupperware. As with all of my collection the only "use" the basket sees is as an art object. I don't intend to scrub the basket any time soon.

Contemporary Pine Needle Basket

6" dia. x 6" h.
long leaf pine needles and waxed linen

This is one of the latest pine needle baskets I have made. Well actually, I have only made about a half dozen over the years. I have never really taken a class in it, just someone showed me how to get started and I have been winging it ever since. I learned how to coil without the aid of a gauge, so I have never been able to get the hang of using one. I started this basket telling myself that I would make the whole thing using a gauge, but as you can tell I only got an inch or so before I became too frustrated and went back to my old way of adding my new needles in groups with the end caps showing.

It is hard to tell in this photo, but the opening is actually triangular in shape. I would like to say that I planned that, but it was in fact a happy accident. As I added the needles in three spirals the difference in bulk of the coil caused the opening to deform into a triangular shape. I used the red waxed linen around the lip to accent the contrasting shape.

The pine needles I used for this basket were collected in Oriental, North Carolina. I used to go there to visit my friend and fellow basket weaver Becky to take classes she hosted with nationally renown teachers, such as, Martha Wetherbee, JoAnn Kelly Catsos and Eric Taylor. I was so excited when I first discovered that they had the long leaf pine needles literally laying all over the ground there. Fortunately I discovered a great tree in an open field across from the marina where I would stay. I am sure the neighbors thought I was completely insane watching me carefully pick through pine needles, discarding ones that I deemed inferior. Since they really only used them as mulch I am sure they thought I must be extremely anal retentive if I was that choosy over what needles went around my flowers. Also, the classes were often in the summer and I would gather my needles in the evening after class was over. Oriental is on the coast of North Carolina and they tend to get a lot, I mean A LOT, of mosquitoes. As I would be out crawling around in the grass I would get swarmed and since both hands were occupied with precious long leaf pine needles I would end up using the bundles as a make-shift fly swatter. As I said, I am sure the neighbors already thought I was nuts and the image of me apparently beating myself with pine needles didn't help I am sure.

But in the end I got my pine needles, actually I have a whole Rubbermaid sweater box full of them, and a nice basket out of the adventure. I am working on another basket right now, but it is going very slowly. I need to get back to working on it, but as I am sure you are well aware, stuff just gets in the way of fun.

Basket Collection - followup

For one of my classes in college I cataloged my Mom and Dad's entire collection, including photos, measurements and any information I had on the basket such as materials, origin and maker. Unfortunately this was all done back in the stone age, e.g. before the days of computers, so all I have are some black and white negatives and a photocopy of the book (the professor insisted on keeping the original). Also many of those baskets they don't even have any more and they have added many many new ones since then.

The thought of redoing the project just makes me tired though. I have some of my personal collection cataloged and they are on my website, but most of the information I have is on the baskets that I have made myself. I have so many Native American baskets that I simply don't know anything about. I should photograph them and add them to my website in the hope that someone will know something about them.

I have an iPhoto book in process of the Shaker baskets I have made and need to get it finished up and printed. Unfortunately it is on a friends MacBook since I have a very old version of iPhoto on my computer. This makes it very hard to work on, but it is one of the things on my very long "to-do" list.

One of these days...

Basket Collection

(click to enlarge)

Whenever I think I have too many baskets or that my house is being over run, I just have to visit my parents and it puts everything into perspective. My parents have been collection antiques since before they were married. My great grandmother was an antique dealer (I have some pieces from her) and my father grew up with the bug. Before I ever even got into basket weaving we always had a few around the house. You can see one of those baskets in the photo, it is the large round baskets on the third beam from the front and the fourth over from the left. Anyway, once I got interested in basketry back in 1984 when I was still in college, the collection started. The baskets in this photo only represent part of what is even in the room, there are probably about 100 baskets alone just in this one space. There are just as many scattered throughout the rest of the house as well.

It is very inspirational just being in the space. I used to weave many of my first baskets right underneath all of the ones in the photo. I used many of these basket as models that I tried to duplicate as best I could with the materials I had (e.g. reed). I learn so much from studying these old baskets. While I learned from a few basic classes I used that knowledge to explore many different styles and different shapes. I always challenge my students to do the same thing. Why limit yourself to just the one basket you learned in class or have the pattern for when the whole world of basketry is out there for you to try. You already know more than you think. I can guarantee you that 90% of the baskets in this photo you already know how to weave, you just need to put together the pieces you know in different combinations.

Now just to make you feel bad, my mom and dad take those baskets down at least every 2 or 3 months and dust/vacuum each one. Remember this is only a portion of their collection. I just tell people that come to my house if they look at a basket they have to promise to put it back in the same spot otherwise you will see the dust ring!

Fun in St. Louis

This is the kind of fun you are in for if you come to one of the workshops I host in St. Louis. No, not basket weaving (though that part is fun), great food. I always take the teacher and anyone else that wants to join us on a feeding extravaganza around St. Louis. One of my favorite stops is at Crown Candy Kitchen, the home of the ridiculously large, but equally ridiculously delicious BLT (though I prefer just a BL). They are also know for their hand poured chocolate and ice cream, including the best banana malts around. So if you enjoy good food and good weaving then join us next year of a class.

Trash to Treasure (or how a $5 shelf became a $100 table)

OK, so I am obsessed with HGTV and the DIY Network. I even have the most expensive package of satellite channels (250) just so I can get DIY. Well one of my favorite features are the "trash to treasure" shows. I guess I get it from my dad, but I love taking something from a flea market or even out of the trash (yes I am a big dumpster diver from way back) and make it into something useful. While my dad really takes a broken up dresser and makes into into something beautiful, most of my projects to date have only consisted of tightening up some legs and a fresh coat of paint.

A few years ago on one of my garage sale (tag sale for those of you on the eastern seaboard) expeditions I came across three restaurant-quality stainless steel shelves for $5 a piece. Well seriously, who could pass up a deal like that? They were even still in the boxes! I didn't initially have a use for them, but knew the wheels were already turning in my head so that wouldn't be a problem. The first two quickly became the top for the bar in my basement. Like so many homes here in "south city" St. Louis, my basement features a 50s-style party bar, complete with knotty pine, bamboo matting, rope edge shelves and plenty of kitsch. The bar itself was in pretty good shape, but needed a new top to replace the odd linoleum covered one. A coat of paint, wood end caps and two stainless steel shelves butted together made for the perfect "modern" top for my upgraded bar.

For the last 3 years the third remaining shelf has been sitting in my garage (along with a bunch of other stuff I keep dragging home) just mocking me to make something out of it. My foundation is made of stone so the walls are too irregular to hang shelves from so simply mounting the shelf to the wall was our of the question. It it was going to be anything it would have to be free standing.

One of the staples of the "trash to treasure" makeovers is the use of galvanized steel conduit pipes. The shows just love to take something like an old door, add four pieces of pipes for legs and "ta-dah", you have a table! So simple and so inexpensive, at least that is what they always say on the show...

So, something clicked in my head and the wheels were turning. I wanted to have some more drink prep area behind my bar and wouldn't a stainless steel table to match the bar just be perfect? I did a bit of research online and found that indeed galvanized pipe (I guess it is actually used for electrical conduit, I never really did find out its actual intended usage) is relatively inexpensive. A short section or fitting is only a couple bucks a piece, so seemed like the idea solution to my problem. A quick sketch to determine the pieces I was going to need and I was ready to head to Home Depot. I decided that I needed to have a second shelf and that could be made out of scrap wood from some old glass block shelves (another dumpster find) I had made for my first apartment that had long been disassembled.

I happened to have the Tuesday off after Labor Day so decided to use that as my errand running and project completing day. I arrived at Home Depot with list in hand and after some searching finally found the galvanized pipe section. I decided that I could use 1/2" pipe instead of the larger 1" sections that the TV designers favor. It was a dollar so so cheaper, depending on the section, so since I had only paid $5 for the top I really wanted to go for the whole "make something great for nothing" experience.

Here is what I ended up with when I got home:

• 3' poplar board $3.98
• 3' aspen board 2@$1.70
• 36" galvanized pipe 2@$8.02
• 18" galvanized pipe 4@$5.05
  
• 12" galvanized pipe 4@ $3.36
• 8" galvanized pipe 2@ $2.66
  
• 4" galvanized pipe 4@ $1.24
  
• galvanized cap 4@ $1.33
  
• galvanized tee 8@ $1.57
  
• galvanized flange 4@4.25

So, have you been doing the math in your head? Come on, the short sections are only $1.24 and the tees only $1.33, this is going to be a great inexpensive project, right? WRONG! All these little pieces added up to over $100!! Well, Mr. Hardhead was already well into the project at this point so I took my cart of pipe and my considerably lighter wallet home to start my construction project.

Of course you can never go to Home Depot just once. I realized after I got home that the 8" sections I bought were too long so had to go back and exchange those for 6" lengths. Hey, they were each 88¢ cheaper! I also realized that I didn't need a 36" board for my back splash, but a 48" length. Whoops, that was $6.85 instead of $3.98, there goes my 88¢ (x2) savings. I also hadn't thought about how I was going to get the lower shelf secured so had to get four "pipe straps", but hey, they were only 19¢ each! So, after much cussing and cutting and screwing pipes together and some leftover paint from the bar my table was complete (after 8+ hours of work) and ready for use.

I really am quite pleased with how it turned out and it looks and works great next to the bar.

Lessened learned: The things you see on TV do-it-yourself shows are neither as easy nor as cheap as they appear to be...