Illustration: Types of Attu and Atka basketry work.
The Aleutian Islands are the long string of islands that travel in an arc along the bottom of the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia. There are a number of communities throughout the archipelago that have been producing basketry for home consumption and outside markets for generations.
Illustration: Attu drawstring basketry design (detail).
All the basketry techniques and styles were unique to each island community; most of the baskets shown in this article derived from the western most island of the Aleutians, and indeed the westernmost point of Alaska, namely the island and community of Attu.
Attu basketry was famous from the nineteenth century onwards, particularly with a number of collectors. In some cases basketry from other islands in the Aleutian chain were mistakenly tagged with the name Attu. It is thought that this was a common mistake rather than a deliberate mislead, as the markets in the mainland US were so far away from the Aleutians that mistakes and mislabelling was common. However, many experts in the US were well aware that Attu basketry skills were probably the best and most authentic in the islands. Whether this had anything to do with the fact that Attu Island was the furthest point from American 'civilization' is an interesting one.
Illustration: Attu basketry construction.
Traditional Attu basketry used wild rye grass that grew everywhere on the islands. Harvesting, which took place in the short Alaskan summer, was not an easy process, as the grass had to be harvested meticulously as not all grass blades were suitable for basketry purposes. The grass was then slowly dried and then had to be separated into grades from coarse to fine. The grass was then dried again until ready to use. By careful harvesting and using a number of different drying techniques, different shades of grass could be used in the basketry process, thus adding an element of pattern and decoration without the need to dye the grass. Interestingly silk and worsted threads were traditionally used as part of the process of decoration, but these materials would have had to have been traded, as the islands had no domestic flocks of sheep, and certainly no direct access to silk.
Illustration: Attu basketry weaving (detail).
Most of the basketry weaving work was produced in the winter when communities were less active and there was more idle time to be filled. Although the basketry for domestic use was usually, if not totally, of a practical nature, those items for export to the US and beyond could take the form of anything from a basket to a cigarette case.
Illustration: Attu basketry cigarette case (detail).
In some respects, Attu basketry was deemed desirable because of its remoteness from the rest of the US, but this on its own would not have been enough to explain its popularity. It was also very well made, the accumulated skill of generations of basketry makers, which made the products that reached the larger external world all the more attractive because of the skill and professional finishing that was involved in this traditional craft.
Illustration: Attu basketry weaving (detail).
All of the images in this article were taken in the first decade of the twentieth century and therefore are probably closer to the uninterrupted traditional lifestyle and craft techniques and skills that made the Attu so attractive to outsiders.
Illustration: Attu basketry construction.
Basketry is still produced throughout the Aleutians. An interesting selection of which can be seen on the Museum of the Aleutians website, along with a number of other museum exhibits. The website can be found here.
There is also a website run by the people of Attu, which gives information on the human and natural history of the island. Their website can be found here.
Museum of the Aleutians
Attu Island Website
Basketry of the Aleutian Island
Baleen Basketry of the North Alaskan Eskimo
Spruce root basketry of the Alaska Tlingit
Photo Native basketry 1900
Alaska Indian Basketry (Shorey Indian Series)
Alaska Basketry (1917)
American Indian Basketry: Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut Basketry of Alaska: Vol II, No 2, Whole Issue No 6)
Aleut Basketry Collection of the Alaska State Museum (Technical paper number 10. October 1999)
American Indian Basketry (Magazine): Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut Basketry of Alaska. No. 6 (II)
Emmons's notes on Field Museum's collection of Northwest Coast basketry (Fieldiana)
A proposed glossary of spruce root basketry terms (Concepts, technical paper)
Spruce Root Basketry of the Alaska Tling
Sitka spruce roots used in basketry: By A.S. Harris (Concepts, technical paper)
The basketry of the Tlingit (American Museum of Natural History. Memoirs)
