for local indian families it was the shelter from the storm
when the visitors came
slowly but surely
we lost our everyday weavers
one woman at a time
today some no longer value our baskets
people pawn their grandmother's regalia
without the blink of an eye
younger generations don't gather or weave as often as those that came before,
some don't understand the value of baskets or the value of tradition itself.
when i was in high school my mother was learning to weave
i would drive her from gathering site to gathering site
her basket teacher used to say i was lucky to be growing up around all the women
mom used to make me crawl around on the river bar and get her roots
"Boy's have to be good for something," she'd say.
(laughter)
now, my mother's basket teacher has become my daughter's basket teacher
i'm still surrounded by women
still driving from gathering site to gathering site
still good for something-
and continuity can exist...
so when i look around the world
when i see the pots and pans that have replaced our baskets
i look to the local indian families
and hardly wonder how our community has come to be in the state its in.
we are still here, because of people like my mother...
and yet we are barely here because of the lack of value placed on things that bring us
instant gratification
store bought pots and pans do not endure
they are replaceable
they are abusable
they hold campbell's soups, and commodity pastas
but act as a colander when we try to place our families inside
some of us have become confused
we think our family members are replaceable
are abusable
for those of us who have forgotten the importance of our baskets
its time to remember.
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