Ute Basket Demonstrations at Heritage Center

On Saturday, May 28, two Ute elders will demonstrate traditional basket weaving at the BLM Anasazi Heritage Center. Stella Eyetoo and Adeline Eyetoo will share their art with visitors beginning around 10 am until about 4 pm. In addition to witnessing new baskets being made, visitors will have the opportunity to see other completed baskets.

Ute basket making is a now considered a rare art form and is practiced by only a few people. The Eyetoos, from White Mesa, Utah, learned as children in an apprentice-like way by watching and being instructed by their elders. The craft is traceable to ancient times when baskets and other woven materials were necessities for Ute daily living. Over the last hundred years the number of weavers has slowly decreased.

Historically, Ute women used a variety of coiled and twined techniques. Local plant materials such as willow and threeleaf sumac are gathered in the spring. Both plant shoots and strips of outer bark are used for various portions of coil-style baskets. Dyeing can further enhance the woven patterns. Styles were varied; some are shared by neighboring Apaches and Navajos as well as Great Plains tribes. The shared styles illustrate how Ute artists blend innovation with their adaptation of motifs learned while traveling and trading.

One of the most well known traditional Ute basket styles is the “Navajo” wedding basket valued by Navajo people for ceremonial use. The Ute production of the wedding basket reveals a cooperative trade relationship between Utes and Navajos that goes back over a hundred years.

The Anasazi Heritage Center is open daily from 9am to 5pm. The museum is located 3 miles west of Dolores, Colorado. The museum also serves as the visitor information center for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. A $3 admission fee is charged for adults, 17 and under and Golden Pass holders are free. Special events are made possible through visitor donations and entry fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. For more information, call the Center at (970) 882-5600 or visit the Center’s web site at www.co.blm.gov/ahc.