California Indian Baskets

California Indian basketry is one of the great textile traditions of the world. The astounding functionality, beauty, variety, and quality of Native basketry throughout California reveals masterful technique, sophisticated designs, distinctive cultural traditions, and artistic vision. 

Strong, versatile, lightweight, and often watertight, Native baskets were perfected to suit local food-collecting and cooking needs. Baskets were also mediums of exchange, expressions of wealth and status, and essential components of ceremony. 

California Indian basketweaving is not only a part of our history, but also an enduring legacy. Today, this ancient art continues to resonate among a new generation of Native weavers, as a source of great pride and a meaningful, inspirational connection to culture, family, and land.