Makers as individuals
Museum labels often say only “Apache basket” and a date. Behind each piece, however, was a particular person with her own habits of pattern, stitch tension and choice of materials. Basketry among the Western Apache was traditionally women’s work, though accounts note that practice was never rigid, and some men also made baskets.
Individual makers are documented in some museum catalogs, collectors’ notes, trading post records and exhibition publications, and some families are known for generations of basket making. This article does not list individual names, because attributions in older records are often uncertain, and a name wrongly attached to a piece does a maker no honor. Anyone who wants to learn about specific artists is best served by the official sites and cultural centers of the San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache, by the museums holding the work, and by books written by Apache authors.
Two main techniques
Western Apache baskets are generally described under two techniques.
Coiling builds a basket in a spiral. A foundation of bundled material is wrapped and stitched to the coil below with a thin, flexible strand. Coiled work is used for trays, bowls and shallow baskets, and it is where patterns are most visible.
Twining uses upright elements crossed by paired weft strands. Twined baskets include the burden basket and the water jar.
The two techniques serve different needs. Twining is relatively quick and makes strong, flexible, open or closed forms. Coiling takes more time and allows tight stitching and designs.
The burden basket
The burden basket is a deep, roughly conical or rounded carrier. It was used to carry gathered foods such as seeds, fruits and acorns, and to carry household goods when families moved. It could be worn on the back with a strap passing across the forehead or chest, although details of how it was carried varied.
Materials commonly named for twined baskets of the Western Apache include sumac and willow, with plant fibers or hide for ties. The plant materials had to be gathered in the right season, cleaned and split before use, which is a major part of the craft. The wider subject of Apache plant uses explains why familiar plants were so valuable.
Many burden baskets are finished with buckskin fringe and small metal cones or jingles hanging from it. The cones, which are often made from tin, add sound and movement as the wearer walks. Whether a particular fringe was functional, decorative or both depends on the piece and the maker, and sources differ.
The olla, or water jar
The olla is a twined water jar. Traditionally it was a basket made watertight by coating the inside and often the outside with pitch from a piñon tree. The pitch was warmed and worked in so it sealed the weave. Water jars were useful when water had to be carried over distance, and the pitch coating gave them a dark, glossy finish.
These jars are sometimes confused with pottery water jars. They are not ceramic; they are baskets, and the sealed surface is a distinctive feature of Western Apache work. Handles of hide or fiber loops allowed the jar to be carried or hung.
Designs and decoration
In coiled baskets, dark designs are made from a contrasting material, with devil’s claw, the curved seed pod of a plant, frequently mentioned as a source of black. Designs include bands, stepped patterns, radiating shapes and, in some pieces, animals or figures. As with beadwork, outsiders should be cautious about attaching fixed meanings to patterns. Meanings, if any, belong to the maker and her community.
Baskets, trade and tourism
By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, baskets were traded and sold to merchants, agency employees and visitors. Demand influenced what was made. Some baskets grew more elaborate, and forms such as vases and trays suited to display became common. At the same time, baskets for household use continued. Understanding that both types exist helps explain why museum collections of Apache baskets can look quite different from each other. The sale of baskets is part of the larger history of the Native American art market Apache artists took part in, and it provided income at a time of severe economic hardship during reservation life.
Continuing the work
Basket making continues, though gathering suitable materials depends on access to land and on conditions such as drought and fire. Passing the craft on to younger makers is a central concern in many communities, as is access to basketry plant materials. Readers who want to buy a basket should buy from the maker or a reputable source and ask which nation the maker belongs to; for current information, consult the websites of the San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache nations.