Twining Cedar (1 of 15): Annette Island Tsimshian Basket Weaving
Published 2018-11-13
Teaching was led by Haida master weaver Delores Churchill, who learned from master Tsimshian weaver Flora Mather, with assistance from her daughter Holly Churchill, an accomplished weaver. In addition to Metlakatla students, three advanced Tsimshian weavers participated in the project, sharing techniques learned in their families and communities and learning new ones: Kandi McGilton (co-founder of The Haayk Foundation), Karla Booth (granddaughter of Tsimshian master weaver Violet Booth) and Annette Topham (niece of master Tsimshian weaver Lillian Buchert). Metlakatla elder Sarah Booth, a fluent speaker of Sm’algyax (Ts’msyen), assisted Kandi McGilton in documenting indigenous basketry terminology for use in language classes.
The videos presented here, with footage from the workshops and residency, provide instruction on how to harvest and process materials and on how to weave a basket from start to finish. To learn more about Tsimshian culture, please visit the website Sharing Knowledge at alaska.si.edu/, where you will find information about all Alaska Native cultures and educational materials in the Resources section.