Baskets of Western Washington

Erickson, Arthur

This article first appeared in Woven History: Native American Basketry edited by Julie Daly and published by the Clark County Historical Museum, Vancouver, Washington. All examples in the article are drawn from the museum collection. .... The indigenous people who inhabited this region were Salish and Twana-speaking groups settled in permanent villages along the rivers and coastal areas. Just as these lands fed and housed these native inhabitants, they provided the raw materials for their baskets. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the late 18th and early 19th Century, the inhabitants of Western Washington relied upon their basketry to provide many of their specific needs. They wove a wide variety of baskets: gathering baskets of various sizes with leather or fiber lo9ops to tie their contents down or to attach tump lines for carrying; large storage baskets to hold their foods, clothing, medicines, sacred items, and personal belongings; sturdy open twined clam baskets whose spaces allowed the sea water to drain out; baskets to hold fishing and whale hunting harpoon heads; and watertight cooking baskets into which water and hot rocks could be combined to cook their meals. .... By the early 20th Century, many traditional forms of baskets were no longer being made and were only occasionally seen in use. Beginning in the early 19th Century, baskets became an item in the trade with European and American visitors to this region and by 1900 baskets were actively collected by knowledgeable collectors. The consequence of this was the development of a flourishing trade in baskets of all sizes, shapes and quality.

Baskets of Western Washington

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