Pomo Indian Basketry

At the time of its publication in 1908, Pomo Indian Basketry was the most complete and detailed study of a single Native American basketry tradition. The work, prepared as Samuel Barrett's doctoral dissertation, earned the author the first Ph.D. in anthropology at UC Berkeley. Among its contents are sections devoted to materials, techniques, forms, and designs. This edition is supplemented with two early articles, "Basket Designs of the Pomo Indians" by Barrett (1905) and "California Basketry and the Pomo" by his teacher Alfred Kroeber (1909). Sherrie Smith-Ferri's introduction reviews Barrett's early life and research and identifies the human sources of Barrett's collections and information--a community of talented Pomoan basket weavers. Sherrie Smith-Ferri (Dry Creek Pomo/Bodega Miwok) is a curator at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, California.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Discusses the history, uses, materials, making and designing of baskets by many Indian tribes.

This unique book provides a complete study of the exquisite Native American basketry from the San Francisco Bay Area and the Monterey Bay region north to Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino and eastward across the Sacramento Valley to the crest of the Sierras. Baskets of the Pomo, Ohlone (Costanoan), Coast Miwok, Esselen, Huchnom, Lake Miwok, Maidu, Wappo, and Yuki people are lavishly illustrated and knowledgably and sensitively described. Color photographs and drawings illustrate the rare, fine California Indian baskets from museum and private collections in the United States and Europe. The vast majority of these baskets are illustrated for the first time. Ralph Shanks is vice president of the Miwok Archaeological Preserve of Marin. Lisa Woo Shanks is editor of the Basketry of California and Oregon Series. They are the authors of The North American Indian Travel Guide.

Excerpt from Pomo Indian Baskets and Their Makers Fifty years ago the many wild, mountain-hemmed valleys of Lake and Mendocino counties were each the home of one or several small Indian tribes entirely independent of all others, and speaking a language at best only partly intelligible to their nearest neighbors. The Franciscan Fathers, who had gathered the tribes of the central and southern parts of California into the Missions, now California's most picturesque ruins, had never gained a hold on the secluded mountaineers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Redwood Valley Pomo master weaver Corine Pearce describes the history, wild-crafting, distinct styles and contemporary use of traditional cradle baskets.