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Historic Work Baskets | Historic Fancy Baskets | Contemporary Baskets
Clara Keezer, at the Hudson Museum Indian Basketmakers Sale and Demonstration, December 2002.
Today, Maine Indian basketmakers continue to use tools passed down from their ancestors to produce sturdy work baskets and ornate, finely woven, fancy baskets. Some 75 basketmakers from Maine’s four tribes currently make baskets. The majority of these individuals are in their 60s, 70s and 80s. In 1992, the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance was formed to promote all aspects of this tradition from the gathering and preparation of brown ash and sweetgrass to actively promoting and marketing Maine Indian baskets.
(See Tribal Map)
Sea Urchin Basket
Mary Mitchell Gabriel
Passamaquoddy
National Heritage Fellow
Loaned by Deborah Brooks
Trinket Box
Sylvia Gabriel
Passamaquoddy
Loaned by Deborah Brooks
Sweetgrass Basket
Carol Dana
Penobscot
Loaned by Carol Dana
Sweet Grass Flat
Lawrence "Billy" Shay
Penobscot
Loaned by Lawrence Shay
Curly Bowl
with standard diamond curls
Madeline Tomer Shay
Penobscot
Loaned by Theresa Secord Hoffman
Miniture Scale Basket
Peter Neptune
Passamaquoddy
Loaned by Peter Neptune
Miniture Pack Basket
Richard Silliboy
Micmac
Loaned by Micmac Images
Cradle
with blueberry dyed splints
Theresa Secord Hoffman
Penobscot
Loaned by Theresa Secord Hoffman
Picnic Basket
Jim Tomah
Maliseet
Loaned by Rosella J. Silliboy
Potato Basket
Jim Tomah
Maliseet
Loaned by Rosella J. Silliboy
Potato Basket
Aubrey Tomah
Maliseet
Loaned by Rosella J. Siliboy
Sewing Basket
Christine Nicholas
Penobscot
c. 1986
Loaned by Jean Camuso and Eric Brown
Drum Basket
Angela Barnes
Passamaquoddy
Loaned by Angela Barnes
Laundry Basket
Mary and Donald Sanipass
Micmas
Loaned by Micmac Images
Corn Baskets
Theresa Neptune Gardner
Passamaquoddy
Loaned by the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance
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