Clash of Cultures & the Discovery of Gold      123456

California Indian Basketweavers Association

Basketweaving is the most prolific and best-known traditional Indian art in California. Starting in the late 19th century and continuing throughout the 20th century, collectors sought out baskets woven by California Indians, and prices for particularly fine or large baskets soared to the thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, in the daily lives of California Indians baskets had been replaced by metal and plastic tools, and by the late 1980s the art of weaving appeared to be at risk of dying out. “There were tribes that no longer had practicing basketweavers, and many others that only had one or two, or a small handful,” said Sara Greensfelder, one of the original founders of the California Indian Basketweavers Association. For the most part, weavers no longer had access to the sites where the necessary plant materials grew.

Following a statewide gathering of weavers, museums, public land agencies, ethnobotanists, and funders, a council formed in 1991 with the goal of supporting weavers and addressing the problems of access to materials. The following year this council formed the nonprofit California Indian Basketweavers Association (CIBA). Based in Woodland, with a satellite office in Northern California, CIBA’s goal is to preserve, promote, and perpetuate California Indian basketweaving traditions while providing a healthy physical, social, spiritual, and economic environment for basketweavers.

Membership is open to weavers and nonweavers alike, as well as to non-Indian supporters of California Indian basketweaving. The organization publishes a quarterly newsletter and sponsors an annual gathering where weavers demonstrate and sell their work, share techniques and stories, buy materials, and generally support each other. With each gathering the network of weavers and their supporters grows, enabling the continuation of the art and its passage to the next generation.

CIBA also works with local, state, and federal agencies and lawmakers to increase access to gathering areas, reintroduce traditional resources to particular sites, limit the use of harmful pesticides, and raise awareness for weavers and Native California cultures. According to CIBA, since its formation the number of California Indian basketweavers has substantially increased, including the number of basketweavers earning income from selling baskets, teaching, or demonstrating their art. In part due to CIBA's efforts, California basketry traditions are on a more secure footing and will continue into the foreseeable future.