Washo artisans showcase traditional basket making

A trio of ladies from the Dresslerville Elders Women’s Circle displayed examples of traditional Washo basket making on the Genoa Courthouse Museum porch during the Genoa Western Heritage Days on Saturday.

Sisters Judy James and Darcy James and their cousin Shelly McDonald explained how Washo weavers gathered and prepared their basket materials, primarily made of willow. McDonald demonstrated the way weavers would strip willow branches and then split them into thinner strips using their front teeth.

She said she can strip the willows into two strips, but Dat-So-La-Lee, famed Washo basket weaver from the late 18th to early 19th centuries, could produce three. Next, the strips are sized to specific diameters by drawing them through a metal can lid pierced with holes of various widths. Dat-So-La-Lee’s strips became extremely thin which allowed the master weaver to create baskets so tightly stitched they could hold water.

McDonald seemed in awe of the master’s skill and said she was sure she probably would never be able to create such fine strips, some of which were several feet long.

“This strip is about the length of a willow branch,” she said, holding one aloft to show a group gathered around her table, which was spread with willow pieces in various states of readiness.

Thicker willow stems are stitched together with the thinner threads to create all kinds of baskets, from baby baskets to huge elongated burden baskets used to carry pine nuts home from the harvest.

McDonald said today’s basket makers gather willow branches from along the Carson River just as the ancestral weavers did.

With obvious pride in their cultural heritage, Judy James and Darcy James related how they learned traditional crafts from their grandmother, noted Carson Valley weaver Clara Frank. Darcy weaves baskets and Judy does beadwork.

The Dresslerville Women’s group meets at the Dresslerville Senior Center where they socialize with other women and young people as they sew, make shawls and quilts, and listen to the elders talk.

But there are not many elders left, they noted. One of them is the sisters’ 92-year-old father, Alfred James. He and his wife Adele have assembled a varied collection of Washo basketry, and the sisters selected several examples for their display table.

On a bright red tablecloth, doll-sized baby baskets lined up next to full-sized baskets with hoods that protect babies’ eyes from the sun. Round lidded baskets and a smaller round basket made by a Darcy at age 10 were displayed next to a flat tray and miniature burden basket with intricate designs of redbud shoots and dark fern root. Beaded jewelry and a glass bottle shone with brilliant color.

Many of the family’s collection of baskets are still in use today, the sisters said.

The Douglas County Historical Society’s own Dat-So-La-Lee basket is displayed in a glass case in the main exhibit room of the museum. The basket maker was also known by her English name, Louisa Keyser, and was married to Charlie Keyser.

She wove exclusively for her patron Abe Cohn in Carson City for 30 years beginning in 1895, producing more than 100 of her exquisite “degikup” style baskets. Others are owned by the Nevada Historical Society in Reno and the Nevada State Museum, which recently honored the basket maker with a medallion minted on the historic Coin Press No. 1 in Carson City.

The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California also presented singers, dancers and traditional prayers as part of the museum’s Genoa Heritage Days event.