Indian Baskets of Northern California and Oregon
Volume III in the Indian Baskets of California and Oregon Series Ralph Shanks ; edited by Lisa Woo Shanks
Costaño Books and Miwok Archaeological Preserve of Marin , 2015 , 168 pp , $ 39.95 Reviewed by Bryn Barabas Potter
indian baskets of Northern California and Oregon , a beautiful presentation of useful basketry information and photographs , is the long-awaited end of a trilogy . The Indian Baskets of California and Oregon series by Ralph and Lisa Shanks also includes Indian Baskets of Central California and California Indian Baskets , which features Southern California .
Physically , the book is lovely . Vanessa Esquivido-Meza ( Wintu ) smiles from the cover . Clear , crisp photos float on the pages . Section headings and terms are in bold print , making them easy to find . The map placement on the first page is very handy . It ’ s easy to flip to while holding your place in a chapter . Who can remember if the Tututni are north or south of the Siuslaw ? A good map is critical for a book like this .
And what kind of book is this ? It ’ s a groundbreaking work that fills a gap in Native California and Oregon studies . If you have tried to read about the basketry of these areas , you know that there aren ’ t many published sources . “ For many of the tribes , there is virtually nothing about their basketry in print ; this opens all of that up ,” Shanks explains . It ’ s an important addition to any library dealing with art , basketry , or the Native people of this area .
Shanks covers the interactions and movements of cultures throughout this region , talking about linguistic families and which groups may have influenced their neighbors with various basketry traditions . He makes sense of the confused jumble of Northwestern California and Southwestern Oregon baskets which museums often clumped into generic categories called “ Klamath River ,” “ Hat Creek / Pit River ,” or simply “ Oregon .”
A tremendous amount of research was undertaken , a difficult task given that there just aren ’ t many well-provenienced baskets in museum collections . An example of this is Bear River and Mattole basketry . Shanks reports that “ little has been recorded regarding their basketry and few , if any , documented pieces survive .” He looked to the literature to find descriptions . In this instance , Bear River elder Nora Coonskin ’ s reminisces , published in 1938 , served as the basis of the basket descriptions .
How do baskets fit within the lives of the people ? Interesting notes on this add to the mix . For example , the Yana adopted coiling from the Maidu . The Modoc put their worn-out willow burden baskets on top of poles to protect their homes from thunderstorms . Through time , the Cahto language changed from Yukian to Athabaskan , with some Northern Pomo influences . Cahto weavers blended Yuki , Pomo , and Southern Humboldt Athabaskan styles , and “ as a result , the Cahto became adept at both coiled and twined basketry .”
The book covers “ an area of cultural , linguistic , and archaeological complexity ,” and Shanks notes that “ it is with admiration and respect that we enter that world .” The Shanks are to be commended for sharing their thorough and thoughtful research in Volume III and the entire Indian Baskets of California and Oregon series .
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