Erica Nelson Menard is a Penobscot brown ash and sweetgrass basket maker. She was introduced to the tradition by her grandmother, Philomene Saulis Nelson. During visits to Philomene’s home Erica watched her prepare materials on Indian Island. She loved watching Philomene dye splints in bright blues, reds, browns, yellows, and purples and seeing her grandmother […]
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Eric Otter Bacon was born in 1977 and grew up in Indian Township and surrounding towns in Washington County. As a youngster, he was drawn to basketmaking, watching elders in his neighborhood making baskets. He was influenced by many artists, some basketmakers and birchbark artist and his style evolved as his work was also influenced […]
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Dolly Barnes learned to make baskets from her mother, Molly Neptune Parker (1939-2020). Molly was an acclaimed Wabanaki basket maker who received a 2012 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow and a First People’s Fund’s Community Spirit Award. As a child, Dolly created her first baskets using scraps. Over time, her mother taught her fancy […]
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Kenny Keezer, son of renowned basket maker Clara Neptune Keezer, carries on a rich tradition of Native American basketry, specifically within the Passamaquoddy tribe. His mother, Clara Neptune Keezer (1930-2016), was an award-winning Passamaquoddy basketmaker who received a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. She was a celebrated figure in […]
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Gerald “Butch” Jacobs, Passamaquoddy, learned basketmaking from his grandmother Angela Barnes, a member of the renowned Neptune family of basketmakers. Angela was known for her fancy baskets, and taught Butch how to make her signature forms. Butch bases his baskets on the styles that he learned from his grandmother: acorns, comb baskets, drum baskets and miniatures. Jacobs […]
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Butch Phillips, a tribal elder of the Penobscot Nation, grew up on Indian Island. He was a tradition bearer within his community. Phillips was a birchbark artist known for etching winter bark with traditional Penobscot double curve motifs and designs. He was also recognized for his moose calls (article here), log carriers, and model canoes. In […]
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Debbie Nicholas comes from a long line of Passamaquoddy basketmakers. Her mother Edith Neptune Pond picked sweetgrass and was renowned for her sweetgrass braid, her uncle Peter Neptune makes “fancy” work baskets, and her aunts Theresa Neptune Gardner and Clara Neptune Keezer instilled in her a passion for making baskets. To this day, everyone in […]
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Peter Neptune, a Passamaquoddy Elder, learned as a child how to make baskets from his father. Basketmaking continues to provide the family with much needed income. Peter’s sisters, Theresa Neptune Gardner (1935-2004), Clara Keezer (1930-2016), and Angela Barnes (1920-2003) were known for their fancy baskets that featured both brown ash and sweetgrass. His sister Edith […]
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Sarah Sockbeson is an award-winning Native American artist who creates traditional, yet contemporary, brown ash and sweetgrass baskets. Sarah is part of a new generation of basketmakers who is pushing the boundaries of Wabanaki cultural art to an exciting new level. With her visionary approach, she seeks to not only protect and preserve a precious […]
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Gabriel Frey is a 12th generation Passamaquoddy basketmaker who grew up watching his grandfather Fred Moore make traditional work basket–packs, laundry and fish scale baskets. In addition to learning how to weave baskets, he was also taught the entire process of preparing brown ash to make the baskets: from selecting and harvesting brown ash trees […]
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