Native American Black Ash Baskets

I'm reading Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A wonderful book of Native American wisdom written by a botanist who is a citizen of the Patawatomi Nation. When I finished her chapter about learning to weave baskets from black ash trees, I was so fascinated, I had to see the process. I found this short video from another indigenous source.

The man in the film demonstrates how he asks permission before cutting the tree, offering a ceremonial gift of tobacco. He also explains to us that one does not take the first tree he finds. He leaves that one to assure future growth and goes on to find the next tree that will serve for making splints for basket weaving.

 

From the YouTube notes:

A functional art form is preserved through the dedication to learning and sharing traditional Native American skills needed to create ash baskets. Abenaki Jesse Larocque walks through the forest to a grove of ash trees and explains how to choose the right tree. Using traditional tools and a demanding technique of rhythm and strength, he pounds the wood splints and then demonstrates the art of creating a basket.

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