small basket with lid, unrecorded Haudenosaunee or Mi'kmaq artist

This small basket tells a surprisingly complex story about Indigenous peoples’ relationships with the environment, economic development, and heritage revitalization. The basket’s materials reflect the diversity of the local environment, with the ash splints coming from the forests and the sweetgrass from coastal wetlands.

In recent generations, sweetgrass and ash baskets have played an important role in cultural heritage revitalization efforts among Northeastern tribes. Basket-making has been a major focus of cultural programs that connect elders and youth to teach traditional arts and help with language preservation. Unfortunately, inter-tribal communities have also had to come together to halt the forces that threaten their access to basket-making materials. Ash trees are in danger from both deforestation and attacks from pests, and construction developments have destroyed or prevented access into long-standing sweetgrass harvesting sites, making traditional materials increasingly scarce.