Oklahoma Native American Basketweavers Association

Fall and Winter 2007 Issue

ONABA Annual Meeting For All Members and Guests, February 2, 2008, Wellston, OK

ONABA board/advisory council and committee persons expect a good turnout for our annual meeting. Marcia Balleweg is hosting it for a second year at OK Basket Supply in Wellston, OK. This is an easy location to find down Route 66 from the Wellston exit of Turner Turnpike.

Your member letters are in the mail. We plan some fun events, door prizes, and raffles. Bring a snack to share. Meeting begins at 11:30 with activities about 1:00 p.m.

If you have not received notification of this meeting, your email address needs to be updated by emailing pbweave@yahoo.com. By clicking on Join Yahoo at the end of the newsletter, and joining ONABA Yahoo Group, you will receive all messages.

See you February 2, 2008. Bring your favorite baskets to show.

December 8, 2007, ONABA General Meeting

ONABA Meeting, Dec. 8,2007, 1-4. Tulsa Helmerich Libarary. Project: make an ornament. Meeting hosted by Wahleah Walker. Email pbweave@yahoo.com or Wahleah for a kit.

http://www.tulsalibrary.org/helmerich/

5131 E. 91st Street
Tulsa, OK 74137
(918) 596-2466

The Helmerich Library is located on the north side of 91st St. between Yale and Sheridan, about three city blocks east of Yale.

Oklahoma Basket Supply closed the weekend of Oct. 26, 27, 28, to vend at BWGOK Weavers Weekend in Guthrie, OK. You can always find the catalog for this retreat at http://www.oklahomabasketsupply.com/Catalog%202007%20BWGOK.pdf. Janet Newman and her committees did a wonderful job scheduling classes and activities at the retreat this year. Check out the OK Basket Supply class schedule at www.oklahomabasketsupply.com/
classes_events.htm.
331946 E. Hwy 66
P.O. Box 647
Wellston, OK 74881
Ph. 405-356-2224
Email: info@oklahomabasketsupply.com

OK Basket Supply has Lyn Siler scheduled Jan. 19 and 20, 2007. Registration deadline for Lyn’s classes is December 1

Karen Scott regularly holds classes in Duncan, OK. She has a series of classes scheduled in different prices on November 10. From 8 - 10 a.m. is a fish. From 10 - 12 a.m. is European star. From 12:30 - ? is Morovian star. Prices range from $5 to $15. Contact her by email klsweave@sbcglobal. Class closes October 29.Call 580 252 4711.

Rena Vickery teaches regularly at Edmond's Mitch Park, 405 359-4630.

Mary Sorrells reports that you may call her at 918 251-6396, about the First Monday Weaver's Group in Tulsa. They meet at the Helmerich Library on the first Monday of each month.

Lee Rose will be at the OK Basket Supply early December. Her purple twill cathead basket is fantastic!

Lee Rose will also be teaching at the Lachenmeyer Art Center in Cushing, OK September through December. Call 918-225-7525 for dates.

SMITHSONIAN'S NMAI 2008 NATIVE ARTS PROGRAM PARTICIPANT

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian announces the 2008 Visiting Artist Fellowship participants. Robin McBride Scott, Cherokee descent,of New Castle, Indiana has been selected for the Visiting Artist Fellowship Program for the National Museum of the American Indian. Robin’s area of research is in Rivercane Basketry materials.

SMITHSONIAN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM: 'CARRIERS OF CULTURE'

The MSU Museum invited nearly 50 Native basketmakers from Michigan, the Great Lakes and beyond to share the skills, wisdom and traditions of basketry for a special "Carriers of Culture" program. "Carriers of Culture: Living Native Basket Traditions," showcased the creative vitality and diversity of Native basket traditions prominent in the expressive heritage of tribal groups in the United States and Canada.

Contemporary Native basket traditions reveal baskets and their makers are - literally and symbolically -"carriers of culture." This program debuted last year at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., for more than 1 million visitors at the "nation's front lawn" and will be adapted for the East Lansing site. The MSU Museum is the state's first Smithsonian affiliate.

The following ONABA weavers appeared at the 2007 Great Lakes Folk Festival:

Peggy Brennan (Cherokee Nation), Oklahoma
Robin McBride Scott (Cherokee descent), Indiana

RIVER CANE WEAVING WORKSHOP IN OKLAHOMA

A river cane workshop was presented by ONABA Cherokee basketmaker Robin McBride Scott in June 2007, Edmond, OK.

Students processed the cane and wove a mat.

She will return in June 2008 for a weekend rivercane workshop which will include gathering first, processing and weaving.

If you are interested in future river cane workshops, email Robin.

Locally found cane is in OKC on Kelley. Look between 36th and 50th street on the east side along the city right of way. Remember, river cane is green in the winter and the tall reed grass is brown. Right now the tall reed grass has a flowering plume. It is OK for fishing poles and flutes, but not for weaving.

CHEROKEE RIVERCANE BASKETRY YAHOO GROUP

Osiyo!

You are invited to join Robin's Cherokee Rivercane Basketry Group. The Yahoo group includes information that will help folks learn and appreciate Rivercane Basketry. You particularly are encouraged to join to find details of upcoming rivercane workshops by Robin in your area.
To Join Go To:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CherokeeRivercaneBasketry/join

HONORING MARSHA MACDOWELL

October 25, 2007, Marsha MacDowell, curator MSU Museum, was honored by ONABA members and friends of ONABA at Peggy.

TRIBAL ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums National Conference, Guardians of Language, Memory, and Lifeways: Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums National Conference will be at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, October 22-25, 2007.

The National Conference, Guardians of Language, Memory and Lifeways: Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, provides a network of support for tribal cultural institutions and programs. It is a unique event that brings together a wide variety of people that share the common goal of cultural preservation.

GIFTS OF OUR ANCESTORS

Tuesday, October 23, 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (60 minutes) Unique information pertaining to tribal culture and history is retained in diverse museum, library, and archival repository collections across the U.S. The study of these primary resources by artists and scholars can help revive traditional cultural practices. This session will explore how institutions can engage young scholars in identifying, studying and documenting tribal materials and, by actively engaging them in the process, teach them to become stewards of their cultural heritage.

Speaker: Robin McBride Scott, Advisory Board, Oklahoma Native American Basketweavers Association

THE CARRIERS OF CULTURE PROJECT: CHALLENGES AND ADVANTAGES OF PARTNERSHIPS

Thursday, October 25, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (90 minutes)This interactive session will share a case study on "Carriers of Culture: Living Native Basket Traditions," a multi-faceted, long-term project consisting of atraveling exhibit, a special program at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and a dynamic website. The project focuses on contemporary Native basketrytraditions that exist in Hawaii and North America at the beginning of the twentyfirst century and examines the ways in which baskets and their makers are--literally and symbolically--“carriers of culture.” The project was led by Michigan State University Museum in parthership with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, with exhibit components provided by the National Museum of the American Indian. The success of the project was contingent on a collaboration of Native stakeholders from across America. The presenters will explore the challenges and advantages of working across cultures and across institutions. The session will conclude with an open discussion with participants about future projects.

Speakers: Peggy Brennan, Board Member and Past President, Oklahoma Native American Basketmakers Association;

Marsha MacDowell, Curator, Michigan State University Museum

Thanks to Robin McBride Scott for maintaining a blog with articles of interest to Renewing Traditions. Most of the above information is from her blog.

MARGARET A. SMITH, EXHIBITS AT JACOBSON HOUSE

The Jacobson House Native Art Center, 609 Chautauqua, Norman, Oklahoma presents Oklahoma (Red People): Choctaw Art and Culture, July 28-September 29, 2007. Margaret A. Smith is the selected basketweaver for the Choctaw exhibition. Melissa Truel (Choctaw) is the guest curator for this Oklahoma centennial celebration of Choctaw art and cultural materials, which coincides with a new book “The Choctaw in Oklahoma, From Tribe to Nation, 1855-1970” (OU Press) by Clara Sue Kidwell, past Director Emerita of the Native American Studies program. D G Smalling, painter, Carol Pate, bead artist and others are also representing the Choctaw Nation in this exhibit.

ONABA is proud to have Margaret as a member.

OKLAHOMA CENTENNIAL FOLKLIFE FESTVIAL

Those who came to the Centennial Oklahoma Folklife Festival, June 23, 2007, at the Oklahoma History Center, sampled Oklahoma's folklife from across the state. The event hosted music, dance, foodways, traditional crafts, and other Oklahoma traditions. Many cultural groups were represented including (East) Indian and other Asian cultures. Latinos included Mexican paper flower making, piñata making, and many other crafts. American Indian crafts included basket making, stickball making, pinch pottery, coil pottery, and the making of Dream Catchers.

Traditional music and dance included Western Swing, Chinese dancing, Mexican folklorico dance, Irish step dancing, polka, clogging, and salsa. Music will include Celtic, Western Swing, old-time fiddling, Mexican Mariachi, Latin salsa, and much more. Storytelling for children and for adults was part of the event.

The event was supported by the Oklahoma Folklife Council, The Oklahoma Humanities Council, Oklahoma Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Oklahoma History Center. See The Oklahoma Folklife Center website for more information on Oklahoma's folklife heritage at http://www.okhistory.org. For more information, contact Rodger Harris at (405) 522-5207 or rharris@... or Hayden Roberts at (405) 323-9265 or haydenroberts@....Peggy Sanders Brennan is a member of the Folklife Council. Other ONABA members who helped plan the event included Marsha Balleweg, Denise Hoff and Wahleah Walker. ONABA had an impressive display of baskets. Many thanks to ONABA members for displaying their talents. More details to come regarding the ONABA booths.

ONABA Membership Form - Join Today

Join ONAB Yahoo site today. It is an invitational group that is monitored for abuse. Members agree to ONABA's mission and goals. Join today and send your information for Renewing Traditions, a newsletter for ONABA members.