Illustration: Pomo feathered, beaded and patterned baskets.
Pomo basket weavers, past and present, are considered by some to be the greatest basket weavers in the world. While many may well disagree with the title of greatest, most are agreed that Pomo basket weavers have an extraordinary skills base that has made their baskets unique across generations of weavers.
Illustration: Pomo Feathered and patterned basket.
The Pomo have always lived on a large stretch of northern California. At one time, there were over seventy distinct tribes stretched out across the territory. Although decimated by contact with European Americans, along with countless decades of disastrous American and state policies regarding indigenous people, the Pomo have tenaciously continued to maintain a presence, all be it extremely limited, in their original homeland, along with their culture, customs and crafts. In fact, the Pomo are still renowned and highly regarded for their consistently high basketry skills, which are now sought after and collected as fine art objects.
Illustration: Pomo seed gathering baskets.
Basketry took many forms from rough utilitarian fish traps to complex and delicate feather baskets used as status gifts. Interestingly the Pomo are one of the few traditional indigenous basket-weaving communities that were never exclusively female. Admittedly, male basket weavers tended to be limited to basic and practical basket making, such as various traps and baby baskets. Women, on the other hand, produced much more exclusive and accomplished basketry used for a number of domestic purposes including storage and cooking.
Illustration: Pomo puberty rites basket.
However, it is perhaps the basketry weaving that took the form of high status gifts that has helped give the Pomo the reputation as great basket weavers. These often entailed complex weaving procedures using feathers and beads, where a significant level of weaving skill was needed. The different sexes also tended to use different weaving techniques as standard. The men produced straight and often loosely woven techniques, while the women were experts at the different forms of coiled basketry in particular.
Illustration: Pomo basket selection.
Basketry craft skills have been passed down over the generations, despite the often disjointed and troubled history of the Pomo. One of the greatest and well-known modern Pomo weavers was Elsie Allen. An interesting and informative article about the life and career of Allen can be seen here, along with a selection of high status baskets produced by Elsie Allen and other Pomo basketry weavers, which can be found here.
The Pomo still maintain a wide and diverse spectrum of communities across northern California as some of the tribal websites below clearly show. A number of Pomo basket weaving books are also listed below.
Further reading links:
Pomo Indian basketry (A Rio Grande classic)
Pomo Indian Basketry, Vol 7 No 3 University of California Publications in Americ
Pomo Indian Basketry
A promise kept: Basketry of the Pomo and the Elsie Allen basket collection
California basketry and the Pomo
Masterpieces of basketry
Hopland Pomo
Habematolel Pomo
Cloverdale Rancherio Pomo
Big Valley Pomo
Coyote Valley Pomo
Dry Creek Rancherio Pomo
Elem Pomo
Guidiville Pomo
Kashia Pomo
Pinoleville Pomo
Potter Valley Pomo
Robinson Rancherio Pomo
