Basket Date Unknown

This basket was created by an anonymous maker, and is now held in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The woven form speaks to the identities and histories of Indigenous communities across the world. Consider the cultural weight of anonymity here. So often, the work of women, people of color, and other marginalized groups has been rendered invisible in the historical record. What stories might this basket tell us about gendered labor, about the transmission of cultural knowledge through generations of women? The geometric patterns woven into the basket are a language in themselves. In many Indigenous cultures, these symbols carry deep meaning, representing elements of the natural world, ancestral connections, or spiritual beliefs. As you look at the basket, consider the hands that crafted it, the materials gathered from the land, and the stories embedded within its woven form.