Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) woodsplint basket by Helen Lone Tree; 1996<BR> Ash, pigment; 25 x 34 cm. <BR> RMV 5852-17; museum purchase by Pieter Hovens from the maker in 1996<BR> <BR> Continuing today are discussions whether the Indians of the Eastern Woodlands developed splint basket themselves or were taught by European colonists. Evidence supports that they were already familiar with the technique as small fragments of this type of basketry have been recovered from seventeenth century Seneca burials. Splint baskets are made from a number of different wood species of which the black ash (Fraxinus nigra) is most popular.<BR> <BR> The Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) and other Great Lakes peoples were probably introduced to plaited splint basket making by the Oneida, Stockbridge and Brothertown tribes who arrived in Wisconsin in the early nineteenth century. As it became increasingly hard for the Ho-Chunk and other Indian tribes to sustain themselves in traditional ways after the arrival of Europeans, craft production for an outsiders market as a source of income grew in importance in the Northeast. All kinds of beadwork and baskets, with splint baskets in particular, saw an increase in demand by whites from the middle of the eighteenth century onwards. In first instance Indians made strong work baskets for sale. Initially, they were left plain and undecorated but gradually more elaborately decorated items were developed (McMullen 2001:150,162,166).<BR> <BR> By dying the wood splints in bright acrylic colors, adding aromatic sweet- grass and embellishments such as curls and folds, the baskets became very appealing as decorative items in the Victorian household. These items were often inspired by factory made items such as hatboxes and imitated in basketry. These decorative baskets are called ‘fancy baskets’, in order to distinguish them from the older types which were mainly utilitarian. The production of these baskets was made easier by the introduction of two new tools; wood blocks around which the basket was shaped and gauges which cut the wood into more narrow splints that were easier to use for elaborate decorations. Before that, splints were cut with a knife and baskets woven freehand. In order to sell their goods Indian women traveled over long distances to towns where they went from house to house and sold their baskets at the doors. By the middle of the nineteenth century this practice changed somewhat as Indians traveled instead to vacation resorts and tourist locations as Niagara Falls where visitors were looking for an exotic keepsake to take home. During winter Indian families created a large supply of baskets for the summer market and often made new baskets on site during the tourist season. Sometimes tourists even showed Indian craftspeople items that they would like to have copied in basketry (Lester 1987:39,42,53).<BR> <BR> Another popular sales practice that was developed in the same time frame was the catalogues of white traders. In these books Indian products adapted to Victorian taste were offered for sale and enabled people from all over the country to order native arts and crafts without having to leave the house. These catalogue traders sold baskets of Indian peoples who made similar products with similar techniques from the whole Northeastern culture area. The Great Depression in the 1930’s hit Indian craftspeople hard. Their market shrunk significantly as more and more resorts closed and they became increasingly dependent on sales through catalogues. But following Worls War II, catalog sales declined further mostly because of lack of interest. As a result, many Indians sought jobs with a more regular income. In the last few decades Indian basketry is in revival and many baskets are sold at art shows, powwows and art galleries in the Northeast. Today the Ho-Chunk weavers are the most active in production of splint baskets (McMullen 2001:162).<BR> <BR> Helen Lone Tree is an active Ho-Chunk basket maker. She was taught basket making at the age of five by her parents and grandmother in Wisconsin. Her siblings did not learn this craft. Lone Tree has now about 74 years of experience with this art form and has full knowledge of splint dying and material preparation. She thinks that the Ho-Chunk should continue making baskets as she considers it a lost art form. Lone Tree says that the best basket she ever made is a round single wood carve drop handle basket. She wove it in 2009 for the president of the United States, Barack Obama (Visintin 2011:6).<BR> <BR> Mette van der Hooft<BR> National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden<BR> <BR> <BR> J. Lester, “We Didn’t Make Fancy Baskets Until We Were Discovered”: Fancy- Basket Making in Maine; in: A. McMullen and R.G. Handsman, eds., A Key into the Language of Woodsplint Baskets:38-59; The American Indian Archaeological Institute; Washington, 1987. A. McMullen, Eastern Woodlands; in: Ed. L.L. Wyckoff, ed., Woven Worlds: Basketry from the Clark Field Collection:149-189; The Philbrook Museum of Art; Tulsa, 2001. G. Visintin, Basket Biography Helen Lone Tree; in: Covering the Ho- Chunk Nation. Hocak Worak 25/7:6; 2011.<BR> <BR> <BR> Ronde mand met deksel en hengsel, gevlochten van dunne stroken essenhout, waarvan een aantal blauw is geverfd.<BR> <BR> Tegenwoordig bestaat nog steeds enige discussie over de vraag of de Indianen van de Eastern Woodlands zelf de techniek van de "splint baskets" kenden of daar kennis mee maakten door Europese kolonisten. Vermoedelijk beheersten ze de techniek zelf al gezien de kleine fragmenten van "splint basketry" in zeventiende eeuwse Senecagraven en was het relatief onbelangrijk tot het midden van de achttiende eeuw toen zij manden voor de blanke markt begonnen te produceren. "Splint baskets" werden van een aantal verschillende houtsoorten gemaakt waarvan de es (Fraxinus nigra) de populairste was. Nadat de bast van de stam was verwijderd werden lange delen van de groeiringen met een gereedschap zoals een bijl van elkaar gescheiden. De spaanders werden daarna verder verwerkt door ze met een mes of krom houtsnijmes op maat te snijden. Voordat de strippen werden gevlochten moesten ze eerst in water geweekt worden om ze flexibeler te maken. Voor het midden van de negentiende eeuw werden alle manden met de hand gevlochten wat een bijzonder tijdrovend karwei was. Om aan de groeiende vraag naar manden te kunnen voldoen werd vanaf de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw gebruik gemaakt van houten mallen of blokken die het vlechten eenvoudiger maakten waardoor sneller geproduceerd kon worden. In de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw werden de mandjes uitbundiger gedecoreerd door de strippen felle kleuren te geven met synthetische verfstoffen, door het zoet ruikende "sweet grass" in het vlechtwerk te verwerken of sierweefsels toe te voegen. De krullen en plooien maakten de mandjes aantrekkelijker voor het Victoriaanse publiek. Deze latere manden worden "fancy baskets" genoemd, om ze te onderscheiden van de manden die niet voor de sier maar voor gebruik werden gemaakt. De gevlochten manden werden in eerste instantie door Indiaanse vrouwen aan de deur verkocht waarvoor zij met hun waren vaak lange afstanden moesten afleggen. In het midden van de negentiende eeuw veranderde dit enigszins; Indianen trokken in plaats daarvan naar toeristische trekpleisters zoals de Niagarawatervallen om daar hun producten te verkopen. Aan het einde van de negentiende eeuw waren de catalogi van blanke handelaren een ander populair middel om Indiaanse gebruiksvoorwerpen, weliswaar aangepast aan de Victoriaanse smaak, te kopen. Deze handelaren verkochten manden van Indiaanse volkeren van over de gehele noordelijke regio zoals de Chippewa's, Abenaki's, Hurons en Irokezen die allen vrijwel dezelfde type producten met dezelfde technieken maakten. De Depressie in de jaren 1930 kwam hard aan bij Indiaanse vaklieden die hun afzetmarkt sterk zagen krimpen doordat veel vakantieoorden sloten waardoor zij steeds afhankelijker van de catalogi werden. Veel van deze stopten halverwege de twintigste eeuw met de verkoop van Indiaanse waren en veel Indianen zochten werk met een regelmatiger inkomen. Ook de teruggang van de es was een oorzaak voor de achteruitgang van Indiaans vlechtwerk. In de laatste paar decennia is Indiaans vlechtwerk weer in opkomst en worden mandjes verkocht bij kunstshows, powwows en kunstgaleries in het Noordoosten.