To create her basket sculptures, artist Ronni–leigh Goeman (Onondaga) elaborates on the traditional Iroquois technique of weaving black ash and sweetgrass, which she first fell in love with as a little girl admiring her grandmother’s practiced hand. Today, Goeman keeps the storied practice alive, while individualizing her pieces with porcupine quills and moose hair, crafting colorful, sculptural, surprising baskets that transform these domestic, utilitarian objects into art. Goeman is one of four artists hosting an event in conjunction with Women’s History Month at the National Museum of the American Indian, aptly titled Bountiful Baskets. Goeman, along with Corine Pearce (Redwood Valley Little River Band of Pomo), Iva Honyestewa (Hopi/Navajo), and Laura Wong–Whitebear (Colville), will demonstrate their varying approaches to the craft, sharing stories, inspiration, and techniques of Native basketry in this all-day presentation. Whereas Goeman’s works are textured, Technicolor expressions (true labors of love, her pieces often include collaborative sculptures made by her husband, Stonehorse Goeman), Pearce’s traditional cradle baskets are breathier, revealing the signatures of the willows, oaks, and other materials she harvests to weave her creations, which beat softly with knowledge and soul. As for Honyestewa, in keeping with the Hopi tradition, her work relies on visual imagery, allowing her to innovate and blend the present—or hopes for a better future for her community—into the historic weaving process. (One of her works evokes the Denver Broncos.) She is renowned for inventing the pootsaya, a melding of coil and sifter techniques that also serves as an ode, prayer, or promise for her community. And Wong-Whitebear’s baskets vary in shape and size, often embracing playful silhouettes in contemporary color ways, incorporating floral and natural motifs into the structure, always in communion—like each of these talented artists—with tradition, nature, and community. Bountiful Baskets runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 16 at the National Museum of the American Indian. americanindian.si.edu. Free, but registration is required. —Emma Francios
Bountiful Baskets, March 16
