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Tribal members Marion Mercier, Joann Empey, Connie Graves, Marie
Schmidt, and Lisa Leno are all participating in Margaret Mathewson's
traditional basket weaving classes in Grand Ronde.
By Nicole Montesano
News-Register writer
All hands are busy plaiting flat
strips of wet cedar bark.
"Margaret," a student wails occa
sionally, as her cedar refuses to co
operate. Teacher Margaret Mathewson is
working on her own basket, but she
seldom stands still. She walks around
the class answering questions, deliv
ering mini-lectures on plants, and
setting up a field trip to gather rushes
next week.
A nationally recognized expert on
basket-weaving, Mathewson was
brought in to teach Grand Ronde
Tribal members a series of classes on
basket-weaving techniques that
were used by their ancestors.
Last month's class focused on ce
dar bark; a course in March and April
covered flat rush bags. Next fall
she'll be back to teach class members
how to weave hazel and willow bas
kets, and the series will wrap up with
a course on spruce root baskets.
"We were terminated (as a government-recognized
Tribe) for so long
that none of us Elders know how to
do anything," Marie Schmidt ex
plains, as she weaves. "We have to
learn. Some of them remember see
ing it done, but they hadn't actually
done it themselves." On the other
hand, she adds, she comes to the class
for fun as well as to learn the skills
her generation missed.
Mathewson has studied the basket
weaving techniques of several conti
nents, and can easily point out
whether a basket woven 100 years
ago was done in Native American or
European style and what the basket
would have been used for. The Tribe
is seeking her help identifying bas
kets in a collection it intends to even
tually house in a Tribal museum.
But she doesn't call herself an expert.
"It's a lifetime study," she says. "If
anyone says T know baskets,' they
don't."
Baskets were widely used around
the world. On this continent, they
were used for storage, gathering,
barter, cooking and fishing, among
other things. Some were watertight.
Mathewson studied plants first,
tagging along on her professor par
ents' field trips as a child, and later
majoring in botany at college. That,
however, didn't teach her how to ac
tually use plants, so she branched off
into anthropology.
"Basketry kind of came a little bit
later," she says, but it grew into a
passion. Today she grows and pre
pares most of her own material, and
teaches classes and seminars on a
number of ancient skills.
"How anyone could ever get bored,
I cannot imagine," she says.
Class member Connie Graves, who
has been weaving baskets for about
18 years, says she's excited about "fi
nally learning to make baskets that
would have been indigenous to us."
"Weaving is weaving, whether
you're Chinese or Native American,
but what's ingenious about basket
weavers all over the world is that they
used what was available to them."
Graves says she lives in a small
house where space is at a premium.
Baskets hung from the rafters pro
vide some much-needed storage
space. Those she doesn't need she
gives away to friends and family.
"They become such a labor of love
that the idea that someone would
give you money (for them) is just
insulting," she says.
Lisa Watt, who set up the classes
with Mathewson, says the Tribe
hopes to create a group of members
who can pass on the techniques
they've learned.
Reprinted with permission from
the News-Register.
BASKET uEAW
- CLASS
by renowned basketweaver
PAT COURTNEY GOLD
Portland Community College
July 10-13 and July 17-20
(4 daysweek, 5 hoursday)
Learn Plateau culture and basket twining
techniques. The art and culture cannot be
separated. This class will work with cattail,
tule and commercial fibers. Pat will be show
ing slides on Plateau culture and basketry,
as well as bringing basketry artifacts. Field
trips will also be included to The Museum at
Warm Springs and another to experience
harvesting plant fibers.
Class is limited to 12 people.
Interested weavers, please contact:
MARYSIVAK
PCC, Sylvania Campus
e-mail: msivakpcc.edu
or
PAT COURTNEY GOLD
P.O. Box 981, Scappoose, OR 97056
e-mail: patcourtneygoldhotmail.com
TRADITIONAL qRAVD RotfDE
7Wt STYLES
mm
Margaret
Mathewson
a
Nationally recognized basket expert Margaret Mathewson is conduct
ing a series of classes which started last March. Students will begin
each course by using sticks and rope to learn the techniques. Pre
pared natural materials will be slowly introduced, leading up to the
preparation and use of unprepared natural materials such as juncus,
rush, tule, hazel and willow. Gathering trips on the reservation will be
scheduled, and outside guest speakers will be invited to share their
knowledge. An evening of basket identification for the entire commu
nity will be announced at a later date as will a conservation workshop
to learn how to protect family heirlooms and artifacts.
Course 3: UPRIGHT OR FLAT HAZEL AND WILLOW TRAYS OR BASKETS
Sept. 27 -Oct. 18 (4 weeks)
Course 4: ROUND SPRUCE ROOT BASKETS WITH DESIGNS
Oct. 25 -Dec. 6 (7 weeks)
Students will be responsible for the cost of materials for each course: $10person for
reed, tule and rush, $25person for cedar and $40person for spruce root. The classes
will be limited to a maximum of 15 tribal members, on a first-come, first-served basis
Please be sure to make a personal commitment to attend each class. Our goal is to
create a group of accomplished Grand Ronde basketweavers who can teach others If
Tribal members express enough interest for classes in Portland and Salem, the Office of
Museum Development will consider holding a series in either location beginning in the fall
Margaret Mathewson is offering to the pub
lic a series of courses exploring the textile tra
ditions of the West with special reference to
Oregon and the West Coast.
JUNE 17-18: TRADITIONAL BASKETRY
TOOL KIT will introduce basic bone, antler,
stone and wood working techniques as we
make several tools which would have been
used in traditional basketry several hundred
years ago. Students will make a deer or elk
bone awl, an antler needle, and an obsidian or
chert shaving knife with replaceable blades
and a cedar heartwood handle. Students may
also make a sizing tool. More advanced stone
shaping techniques will be demonstrated and
students may choose to focus their attention
in that direction. Natural ornaments for bas
ket rims may also be made out of these versa
tile materials. Fee: $90 includes all materi
als, tool kits and obsidian to take home.
JULY 1-2: NATURAL DYES AND MIN
ERAL PIGMENTS on wool, rawhide, quills and
other natural surfaces. We will learn about
plants, lichens and fungi which produce color
ful dyes, including native plants and non-native
garden varieties. Demonstrations will in
clude native wolf moss to produce yellow on
quills, mushrooms to produce red and woad to
produce blue, among many others. Non-toxic
mordants will be used. Students will make wool
samples and learn basic drop spindle spinning.
We will also experiment with other fibers. Tra
ditional earth-based paints will also be used to
decorate a small folded rawhide container.
Natural glues and fixatives will be used includ
ing fish and skin glue, pitch, fats, waxes, and
plant sap. Fee: $70 includes all materials,
a spindle, and a rawhide container.
JULY 15-16: SPRUCE ROOT MEDAL
LION in a style practiced on the West coast by
Native peoples from Northern California to
Central Oregon. This is a plain twined bas
ketry medallion with single face overlay. We
will use prepared spruce roots and peeled wil
low warps with a star design in Woodwardia
fern dyed with alder bark, beargrass, maiden
hair fern and other traditional materials. The
small medallion will be finished with a hide back
ing and strung with natural beads and shells.
Fee: $135 includes all.materials prepared.
JULY 20-JULY 26 (concurrent ses
sions): BEGINNERS INTENSIVE BASKETRY WEEK
includes an introduction to techniques and ma
terials used in traditional basketry in Western
North America. Students will learn basic split
ting and plaiting with cedarbark; twining and
wicker with willow and tule or sweet grass;
and coiling with split willow over grass, or ce
dar root. Basic splitting and trimming tech
niques will be taught but prepared material will
be available as well. Slide shows each evening
will cover traditional basketry styles and plants
of the major regions of the west including the
Southwest, California, the Great Basin, the
Plateau and the Northwest Coast. Participants
may come for all or part of the week.
INTERMEDIATE INTENSIVE BASKETRY
WEEK is a more in-depth look at materials and
techniques in traditional Western North Ameri
can Basketry. Methods of incorporating de
signs into the basic techniques as well as com
binations of techniques in baskets will be stud
ied. Projects include wrapped twining, tight
twining with various overlays and braided
weaves and borders, diagonal twining with
flipped design and three-rod coiling with de
signs, among others. Students may bring un
finished basketry projects for advice and
trouble shooting . This class will be tailored to
the individual needs of the participants. Basic
knowledge of some basketry is required.
These courses will include the preparation and
cooking of acorn soup with hot rocks in a bas
ket on the weekend. Fee: $350 full week;
$120 for any two days includes materials.
AUGUST 5-6: BEADED COILED BAS
KETRY in a style produced by Native peoples
in Central California including the Porno,
Wappo, Patwin, Paiute, Maidu, Salinan, and
Ohlone groups. We will use prepared strands
of split willow or sedge root and one-rod con
struction technique. Students may bring their
favorite seed beads with them or use beads in
the colors provided (mostly opaque, non
sparkly available). We will have time to make
brooch or very tiny basket. Fee: $140
includes all materials prepared.
For more information or to register:
MARGARET MATHEWSON
Ancient Arts and Technologies
16140 Lobster Valley Rd
Alsea, OR 97324
(541)486-4311
e-mail: margaretpeak.org