Plants first, craft second
Baskets and cradleboards are covered as craft in other parts of this site. This article is about the plants themselves: what grew where, which species are mentioned in published sources, and what makers needed to know before a basket could begin. The craft side, including Apache basket makers and the Jicarilla basketry tradition, has its own treatment elsewhere.
Sources on Apache basketry are strongest for the Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero and Jicarilla, and they describe somewhat different styles and materials. A general account follows, with the caution that no single list applies to every group.
Sumac
Skunkbush sumac, a shrub with flexible shoots, is the plant most often named in connection with Apache baskets. Straight shoots are cut, split and trimmed to make flexible strips used as the sewing element or the weaving element of baskets. The shoots are often gathered at particular times, and accounts mention preparing them by splitting and scraping, with the bark removed for a lighter color or retained for contrast.
Sumac berries also have food uses, so the same bush can serve more than one purpose. A maker would look for healthy, straight young growth, which is one reason knowledge of particular patches matters.
Willow and cottonwood
Willow grows by streams and springs and gives long, supple shoots. Many Southwestern peoples use willow for basketry, and it appears in accounts of Apache work, particularly for the shaping of burden baskets, water containers, and cradleboard frames and hoods, though specifics differ. Cottonwood, another streamside tree, supplied wood and in some cases inner bark or shoots.
Because willow and cottonwood depend on water, the health of rivers and springs bears directly on the supply. Changes to waterways, such as damming, groundwater pumping or invasive plants, have affected where these plants can be found.
Yucca and other fibers
Yucca leaves yielded fibers and strips used for lashing, binding and in some baskets, and are described more fully in the separate article on yucca. Sources name other shrubs, grasses and leaves for particular purposes in some regions, though the lists are incomplete. Apache basketry in some regions also draws on devil’s claw, a plant with a long black seed pod used for dark design elements, a technique better known from neighboring Southwestern peoples. Its role among Apache makers is mentioned in some sources, but care is needed in attributing it to any particular group.
Burden baskets, water jars and trays
A few basket types often come up.
- Burden baskets. Large, sturdy, often conical baskets carried on the back, used to haul gathered foods and other loads. Many have hanging fringes or tin cones added in later periods.
- Water jars. Coiled or twined baskets coated inside with piñon pitch to hold water. Piñon resin is the plant material here, collected and heated.
- Trays and bowls. Used for winnowing, parching and serving.
Different groups favored different construction techniques. Coiled and twined baskets are both documented, and the choice relates in part to what plants were available.
Cradleboards
A cradleboard is a carrier for a baby. Accounts describe a wooden frame, a back of slats or a board, a hood or bow to protect the head, and a covering of hide or cloth. Materials commonly named in the sources include flexible shoots for the hood and frame, hide for the cover, and padding of soft plant fiber such as shredded bark or similar material. Specific plant species vary by region.
Cradleboards are not only utilitarian objects. In many Apache families they carry meaning related to care of a newborn, and some are made with blessings or particular teachings. Those aspects are private to families and communities, and this article does not describe them.
Gathering and preparation
Several general points appear across the sources.
- Selection. Makers looked for plants of the right age, length, and flexibility, and for stands that were healthy.
- Timing. Many shoots were cut at particular points in the year, often late winter or early spring or at specific growth stages, though precise practice varied.
- Preparation. Splitting, trimming, soaking, drying and sometimes dyeing came before weaving or sewing.
- Care for the stand. Cutting shoots in a way that allowed regrowth is a recurring theme in accounts of basketry around the world, and it applies here too. Some Native basket makers and tribal agencies have raised concerns about herbicide spraying, development and access restrictions that affect the plants.
Who makes baskets now
Basket making continues in several Apache communities, and the objects are made, sold and sometimes collected. Buyers should be careful about imitation items that borrow Apache or Native names. Genuine work is best sought through the nations’ own cultural programs, recognized artists and established venues. The materials also have a larger story in the Apache art market and the preservation of skills.
Access to materials is a concern raised by many basket makers. Gathering on public or private land generally requires permission, and tribal land has its own rules. Check each nation’s official channels for current guidance.