Renowned for artistic and functional qualities, Native American basketry has been produced across centuries for a host of daily and ceremonial purposes. Baskets have long been essential in gathering, cooking, and rituals. Making use of local plants like willow, yucca, and grasses, weavers' skills extended beyond practicality, showing great attention to detail. The arrival of Europeans disrupted traditional lifestyles, leading some weavers to create baskets for sale rather than personal use. By the early 1900s, European-Americans began collecting these baskets as decorative art, which influenced new designs and shapes, featuring motifs like animals and human figures. Weavers also introduced embellishments such as glass beads and feathers, further elevating their work. Throughout the 20th century, Native American basketry experienced a gradual revival, with modern weavers learning traditional techniques to preserve their cultural heritage.
Some of the most accomplished basket weavers hailed from present-day Northern California, with tribes such as the Pit River, Yokuts, and Maidu excelling particularly in terms of their artistry. Located in the far northeastern part of the state, the Pit River tribe's basketry was typically made in a twined style and often used willow rods, bear grass, and maidenhair fern. The Yokuts lived in the San Joaquin Valley and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada; their baskets were comprised mainly of tule using twine and coil techniques. Maidu peoples resided in the central Sierra Nevada in the drainage of the Feather and American rivers and in the Humbug Valley, with their basketry incorporating various roots, bark, plant stems, willow twigs, and redbud. These and other tribes have used materials native to California to create basketry that endures as a testament to the indigenous craft tradition.
