When talking about Tule River basketry we should of course be really talking about Yokut basketry. The Yokut nation originally consisted of over sixty diverse and distinct communities, all speaking a common language and sharing the larger Yokut culture, all living within central inland California.
Basketry, as with most Native American cultures, was an important element in the daily domestic life of people, and was often so intertwined with the day-to-day running of life that the maintenance of a fully functioning professional basketry craft base could often be a factor in the success or failure of a community. Basketry techniques by the Yokut were particularly prized and were bartered extensively throughout the region. Whether the range and styles of basketry produced was purely for that of the domestic requirements of the culture, or was perhaps guided into supplying the market with as wide a selection as possible, is unknown though it could well be a combination of the two.
General Yokut basketry design includes such styles as cradle, bottleneck, burden, coiled plaque, personal eating, cooking, rattlesnake and winnower and was extensive enough a range to include every aspect of domestic and possibly ceremonial life. The basket makers themselves, as with most of the basketry craft across the planet, used locally sourced materials such as roots and specially selected and harvested grasses. The basketry was produced using the coiled technique. Decoration was a vital part of the design work and could well explain their constant appeal, both in the original Native American California, and indeed in the contemporary state, as well as across the whole of the US. There is a whole range of motif and pattern work that is unique to the Yokut, making the baskets an integral part of their heritage and their identity.
The illustrations shown in this article give a good indication of the range in style and decoration achieved by the Yokut. A culture that can maintain a stance of constant creation through traditional crafts, despite being faced with a long history of repeated decimation, denial of rights and loss of ancestral lands, has every right to be perceived as being possibly one of the most creative and professional basket making nations within the US.
There are a number of sites, Native and non-Native, dealing with Yokut basketry and the greater Yokut culture. The Tule River Indian Tribe website gives a good overall history, both politically and culturally, of the Yokut nation. Although the Tule River nation itself does include people from other traditional nations, such as the Mono and the Tubatulabal, the majority are of Yokut descent which is why the site is included with this article. Also included is the Tachi Yokut Tribe website, which also gives a good insight into the Yokut, past and present. There is also a good link site detailing a number of aspects of Yokut society, history, language and crafts and is part of the Four Directions Institute.
Another invaluable site is that of Yokuts Baskets run by Lois Conner. This site is full of information about techniques, styles and materials that help to make Yokut basketry what it is. Conner is of Yokut descent and produces her own basketry within the cultural style of her ancestors.
There are various sites where Yokut basketry can be bought. The California Baskets site is a good place to start. It deals in both Yokut basketry and the work of other cultures throughout California.
Lastly two sites, first the California Indian Basketweavers Association has an interesting and wide ranging contemporary site for anyone interested in the larger subject of the craft of Californian basket making, both past and present, and hopefully for that of the future. Secondly a good general educational site called First People which is full of information and illustrations from a whole range of nations across the US and Canada.
Further reading links:
Tule River Indian Tribe
Tachi Yokut Tribe
Four Directions Institute
Yokuts Baskets
California Baskets
California Indian Basketweavers Association
First People
Yokut (Native Americans)
Yokuts and Paiute Songs and Culture [With CD]
Defying the Odds: The Tule River Tribe's Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries (The Lamar Series in Western History)
Battles of the Red River War: Archeological Perspectives on the Indian Campaign of 1874
100 year history of the Tule River mountain country
Mono Tribe: Lucy Telles, Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians of California
Handbook of Yokuts Indians
California Native American Tribes Foothill Yokut Tribe (California's Native American Tribes)
