Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Spring 2008 - (Page 35) Basketry of the Peoples of the Southern Woodlands After the arrival of European settlers in what would become the Southeastern United States, native peoples began to rely heavily on trade with the colonists and European goods eventually replaced much of the native material culture. Few objects from the historical period prior to 1830 have survived. The largest number of surviving materials are baskets, an art at which the Southern Woodlands Indians excelled, which has continued to this day. The relationship between native peoples and colonial settlers mirrored that of the Northeast; settlers wanted Indian land and were willing to do anything to get it. Numerous bloody conflicts resulted in one treaty after another reducing Indian holdings. With the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, all of the Southeast lay within the borders of the United States. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson persuaded Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act, a measure that permitted the forced relocation of the Southeastern tribes from their ancestral lands. With great difficulty, a few managed to stay behind. In the Louisiana bayou country are the Chitimacha and Houma, in the center of the state are the TunicaBiloxi, and in the west the Coushatta. While much of their traditional culture and languages have been lost, an active revival is in full bloom due to Indian pride and the awareness that they are on their ancestral land and are the living legacies of the Southern Woodlands and Moundbuilding cultures. ROSE LANGLEY MEDFORD (COUSHATTA, CONTEMPORARY) Louisiana Mask, circa 1980 Pine needles, raffia; height 18 inches, width 18-1/4 inches RONALD LANGLEY (COUSHATTA, CONTEMPORARY) Louisiana Fanner Basket, contemporary Split river cane and commercial dye; height 3-1/4 inches, width 11-3/4 inches, depth 11-1/2 inches EDNA LORENA LANGLEY (COUSHATTA, CONTEMPORARY) Louisiana Large Turtle Basket with Lid, circa 1980 Pine needles, pine cones; height 4 inches, length 10-1/4 inches, width 7-3/4 inches Native American basketmakers often pass on their skills to their children. Edna Lorena Langley and her children Rosalind Langley Medford and Ronald Langley are three Coushatta basketmakers who continue this tradition today. The woven mask on the left by Rose Langley Medford is a contemporary interpretation of traditional Iroquois cornhusk masks representing supernatural spirits. Bundled and coiled long-leaf pine needles have been woven together with raffia to create the face. Black dyed raffia has been used for the hair and the exaggerated eye lids. Red dyed raffia, used to give the mask a supernatural aura, is woven around the eyes, nose, mouth, and cheekbones. The fanner basket by Ronald Langley (center) harks back to a time when river cane was more available to Coushatta weavers. The diamond and zig-zag pattern on the inside of the basket is very similar to basket designs made by the Choctaw, to whom the Coushatta are linguistically related. Some time in the middle of the 20th century, Coushatta basketmakers began making whimsical animal effigy baskets like the turtle basket by Edna Lorena Langley pictured here. Traditional bundled and coiled pine needles are used to make the basket; pine cone scales form the lid. The end result, a clever use of the products from one tree, is a light hearted collectible. Spring 2008/LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 35
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