THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
INDIAN BASKETRY.
(By James Olney, Seventh Grade.)
The Indians make the finest baskets in
the world. Years ago Indians used to
make baskets very much better than
they do now; the art of basket making is
dying out. The Indians oi Nevada and
California make very pretty baskets out
)f willow bark, grass, and barks off of
the ruots of cedar trees; and in Washing
ton the Neah Bay Indians make very
pretty and expensive one also, using
the same mateiial as the Nevada and
California Indians.
There are Indians all over the west
ern partof the United states that make
these baskets, but the Alaskan Indians
are considered the very best basket mak
ers. The Yakatat tribe i the basket
making tribe of Alaska, altho the Attu
tribe who live out on the Aleutian islands
are the best; they make their baskets
out of gra-s only, a - there are ikj trees
on that island.
It U said that only 40 women now
live on that island who can make baskets;
the place where these Indians live is
called Attu. The Indian basket,- :ifier.
they are made, are worth from $25 to
about $200. One winter, about 12 years
ago, a hard winter set in n these Indians
living on Attu, and lots of them died of
starvation. A ship passing by that place
brought the news to this country. A
lady by the name of Helen Gould, who
was the richest woman in this country,
ent them about $1,000.
A blind woman after she had heard
of this lady sending them money, said
'Jet us present to her a basket." o with
the assistance of a few younger women
the basket was completed and sent to
Helen Gould. The basket, it is said, was
the finest and most beautiful one ever
made.
"MY CREED."
We, the people of Tulalip, have no
ticed in every paper published in In
dian schools, such as Carlisle, Phoenix.
Chilocco, Haskell, Riverside and others
the little eight line verse of "My Creed."
Would you like to know where it came
from? Why it came right from this lit
tle corner out west known as the "Beau
tiful Tulalip School."
One Sunday evening Dr. C. M. Buch
anan read it to us pupils and brought
out both the beauty and the different
points s he read it. He had taken it
from Harper's Bazar. We think it is
a very beautiful poem and repeat it
every morning and evening. When
Doctor went to Haskell about a year ago
last fall, he told the pupils there in that
large school about the poem and also
told them how to enjoy repeating it and
they too thought it a beautiful poem, so
their paper, the Indian Leader, was the
tii st to print it. It traveled from there
clear east as soon as the Indian Leader
printed it It soon appeared in other
papers. We are glad that other people
think it as beautiful as we do and are
glad that some of the other schools are
reciting it as we do. There is so much
beauty and wisdom in these few lines if
one will only bring them out.
"I would be pure; for there are those who trust.
1 would be true; for there are those who care.
1 would be strong; for there is much to suffer.
I would be brave; for there is much to dare.
I would be friend of all the foe, the friendless.
I would be giving, and forget the gift.
I would be humble; for I know my weakness.
I would look up and laugh, and love and lift."
E. M. D.
'1 here is no better time thin the
present to f-ubscribe for the Chemawa
American. It is a weekly paper and
only osts 25 cents per year.