Hudson Museum Scavenger Hunt: Penobscot Candy Basket

Image of a very small green and red basket — HM8420 – Penobscot candy basket

Who made them?

Among the Wabanaki (Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet, and Mi’kmaq) basketmaking is learned by doing. Children are taught by their elders how to make baskets. One of the first baskets that they make are candy baskets, which use the scraps left from the larger baskets made by the elders.

Image of two women and a boy sitting in an interior with baskets. — HM7182.182 – Basket makers on Indian Island, Old Town, ME

Today the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance offers workshops for the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Mi’kmaq communities to encourage a new generation of basketmakers.

What are they used for?

Baskets are traditionally used for gathering, storing, and transporting items.

Wabanaki families made hundreds of thousands of baskets for use in the home, fields, and woods.

Image of two people standing behind counter in basket shop. — HM7182.32 – Chief Poolaw and Princess Watawaso’s Basket Store Old Town ME

Income from basketmaking was crucial to Wabanaki communities in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Image of a woman in a tent with a display of baskets. — HM9303.13 – Sylvia Stanislaus selling baskets.

Today, baskets have become art. Wabanaki artists are recognized nationally for their artistry.

Image of a basket with curled weavers and a polished antler handle. — HM8851 – Penobscot brown ash, sweetgrass, and antler fancy basket by Sarah Sockbeson.

What are they made of?

Wabanaki baskets are made of brown ash and sweetgrass–materials that are found in our state.

Splints are often colored with dyes made of berries, tree bark, and roots and later with aniline dyes. Popular colors changed over time: indigo, red, and yellow were popular around the time of the Civil War, olive green and brown were popular during the Victorian era, and in the 1930s bright colors were popular.

Image of basket open to show brightly colored interior. — HM4880 – Roman-colored sewing basket. The interior of the basket has been protected from the fading effects of light and retains the original bright colors.

Splint gauges are used to create uniform width splints.

Image of a wooden tool used to cut basket weavers to width — HM9435 – Penobscot splint gauge – note the narrowly-spaced teeth.

To Find the Next Code

Face the basket, and then head to the right. Look for a sharp tool that you could use to carve wood to make a basket. You can scan the QR code when you find it, or click here to continue.