Our theme this year is "Ethnobotany and Dyeing with Plants", with the goal to learn how several indigenous people groups use plants and natural materials to dye fabric or objects. To contain the scope, my research is at the survey level rather than a deep investigation. Our first group was the Tlingit people from Southeast Alaska (see Ethnobotany: Tlingit's and Dyeing with Plants). This time, I'm learning about a people group in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Muwekma Ohlone group (Chochenyo speaking). Their ancestorial territory extended from the Berkeley Hills to Bay Shore, from West Oakland to El Cerrito—covering all of Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito, and most of Oakland.
The Ohlone and nearby Coast Miwok people were organized into small, independent societal groups or tribes in the San Francisco Bay Area. They lived off the land, followed sustainable practices to ensure ecological renewal, practiced controlled burns to manage the land, traded, and intermarried. The land provided their needs for community, food and water, shelter, transportation, tools, and art. I chose the Muwekma Ohlone group because we live in the East Bay, which is within their ancestorial territory. The East Bay is a beautiful place. Sometimes I can imagine what the area would have been like before first contact, and it is magnificent!
Ohlone Basketry
The Ohlone are renowned for the art and skill of their basketry. Baskets were an essential tool for daily life. Baskets and woven mats were made in many shapes and sizes, and were frequently decorated or embellished.
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| Ohlone baskets and implements - Santa Clara University's Mission Church Creative Commons (Photo by Ed Bierman) |
Baskets had many functions, such as gathering and storing food, transporting firewood or other heavy loads, catching fish, holding water, cooking, winnowing or sifting grains, gaming, and carrying infants. Although functional, the baskets were also works of art. I found that there are few examples of Muwekma baskets available for viewing, since many have been collected by missions, museums and private collectors around the world. I was able to find some examples on the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe official website and several others.
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| Winnowing tray made by the Costanoan (Ohlone). Photo by John Alden Mason, 1912. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. |
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| Coil tray made by the Costanoan (Ohlone) people at Mission San Antonio. Photo by John Alden Mason, 1912. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. |
Note that "Costanoan" is a Spanish word for "coastal". It was used by early explorers to refer to indigenous people living near the water, to distinguish them from those living inland. The term is descriptive and not a tribal name.
Basket Making
Basket material was gathered from nature, and included roots, rhizomes, grasses, reeds, shoots, sprouts, and even leaves. The materials had to be gathered at the right time of year and then processed and kept moist to ensure flexibility. The Muwekma understood plant growth cycles and knew when to harvest and how to harvest sustainably to ensure an ongoing supply. Following are some of the plants that supply basket-making material:
- Common Tule (Scirpus acutus) is woven into loose baskets to collect berries and eggs, and tight baskets to carry water.
- Cattail (Typha latifolia) is used to create mats, rope, and baskets.
- Willow (Salix spp.) shoots are peeled and used for coiled work, and the warp (the long vertical threads that provide strength) of some twined baskets.
- Sedge (Carex mendocinoensis and Carex barberi) rhizomes are used to weave baskets.
- Big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) shoots are split for the white element in some baskets.
- Bulrush (Scirpus spp.) is dyed with walnut or mud and used in baskets.
- Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) rhizomes supply two membranes used in basketry.
- Chamise (Adostoma fasciularis) is a chaparral plant used in Ohlone basketry.
- Common horesetail (Equisetum arvense) and Common Scouring rush (Equisetum hyemale) rhizomes are used as a black element in Ohlone basket design.
- Hazel (Corylus cornutta) is a preferred warp material and basket rim material in Ohlone basketry.
- Poison oak (Toxicodendron diversiloba) shoots can be used in basketry.
- Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) sprouts from burls can be used in basketry.
- Rush (Juncas, Juncus affaris) leaves can be woven into the basket design.
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| Tule grass growing by the reservoir at the Contra Loma Regional Park (Photo by Mari) Grasses, reeds, and willow grow in riparian and coastal areas. They are harvested in season and supply basket-making material. |
Baskets came in many shapes, sizes and designs. Coil baskets are a common and durable weaving style. A coil of willow shoots is wound tightly with sedge root and then the coil stitched firmly together with a stiff root or reed. The weave can be loose or tight, depending on the basket's use.
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| Coiled willow shoot basket, Northern California, 19th century, Costanoan. British Museum, London. |
Many baskets include a pattern that is woven throughout the three-dimensional shape, which requires the weaver to use sophisticated mathematical and spatial skills to transfer a geometric design from mind to form. The pattern might be developed by weaving in dyed grasses, or by using a different type of root or grass. Different colors and textures were introduced by using a variety of plant materials in the weaving. Patterns were also developed using embellishments such as shells or feathers.
Linda Yamane's demonstration video "Ohlone Basket Weaver - Linda Yamane" provides a quick look at the process of gathering and preparing materials, weaving, and embellishing Muwekma Ohlone baskets. Likewise, did Corrine Pearce's video "Pomo Basket Weaver - Corine Pearce on Pomo Baskets". Pomo territory is also in Northern California but further north near Clear Lake. Many tribes use similar techniques but with cultural variations and adaptations for the materials at hand.
Dye Sources
Original dye sources included plants and materials such as mud and iron. For my own quick reference, the following table provides a summary of some of these dye sources with notes for any additional information. I was surprised to find that the Muwekma often used alternate material to incorporate color, rather than dyeing plant material. For example, weaving in the black stems of the Five-finger fern to add a design in black.
The Ohlone bury basket material, such as tule grasses, in mud to dye it black. Another technique is to harvest roots or shoots that grow in marshland that is heavy in iron, which naturally dyes or colors the plant material black.
Muwekma Ohlone Dye Sources - East Bay California
| Color | Dye Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Red Dyes | White Alder | The inner bark was pounded and the juices produced a red dye for basketry. |
| Toyon | The berries produced a red dye for basketry. | |
| Purple Dyes | California Blackberry | The berries produced a purple dye for basketry. |
| Brown Dyes | California Black Walnut | The hulls of the nuts produced a dark brown dye for basketry. |
| Black Dyes | Five-finger Fern | The black stems were split to remove yellow interiors, and then used for black overlays in basketry. |
| Mud enriched with minerals | Basket material was buried in mud and dyed black. |
Decorative Sources
Unadorned baskets stand on their own for beauty, form and function, relying simply on the materials and the craftsmanship. However, weavers also choose to express themselves or the group's identity with woven patterns and designs. This Ohlone cooking basket is a good example. The striking black pattern is varied and appears on both sides of the basket.
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| An Ohlone cooking basket, with a woven pattern. This image is sourced from Muwekma.org, the "Customs and Traditions" page. |
Weavers also decorate their basketry with objects such as shells, feathers, and leaves. This Ohlone basket is from Santa Clara near San Jose and is part of the Smithsonian collection. According to it's description, the basket is embellished with olivella shell disc beads, remnants of red woodpecker feathers and quail topknot feathers on a background of sedge root weft (the horizontal threads).
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| An Ohlone coiled basket, with shell and feather remnants. This image is sourced from Muwekma.org, the "Customs and Traditions" page. |
This contemporary basket was made by Ohlone weaver Linda Yamane. She is on a journey to locate historic Ohlone baskets and to restore Ohlone basket weaving. The basket is decorated with olivella shell disc beads and red feathers. Traditionally red woodpecker feathers would have been used, but feathers from wild birds are typically protected and cannot be harvested. Yamane has improvised by using chicken feathers dyed red and clipped to shape.
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| A contemporary feathered basket by weaver, Linda Yamane. Red dyed chicken feathers are substituted for woodpecker feathers. Screenshot from "The Art of Basket Weaving" video (interview with Yamane) |
Summary
That concludes another brief ethnobotany tour of sources used to create, dye, and decorate the beautiful Muwekma and Ohlone basketry from the San Francisco Bay Area. There is more to learn. I hope to seek out baskets in local museums and collections to see them first hand. While on our Over-the-Hills-Gang hikes in the East Bay Regional Parks, I'll be more attuned to noticing plant sources for basket making in the environment.
I'm curious whether the Regional Parks system has a sanctioned and sustainable process for indigenous people (and perhaps non-indigenous artists) to gather plant material for dyeing or basket weaving. Indigenous peoples used sustainable methods to harvest plant material, which ensured it would not be over-harvested. Perhaps a protocol could be developed for controlled access to plant materials for personal artistic use.
Learn More
- California Basketweavers' Association website (https://ciba.org/). Learn about events, conventions, and gatherings in California.
- Early Uses of California Plants (https://www.amazon.com/California-Plants-Natural-History-Guides/dp/0520000722). Edward K. Balls, University of California Press, 1962. Information from many sources has been compiled for the most important plants used by early inhabitants of both Northern and Southern California, as well as methods of preparing the plants for use. See the "Fiber and Basketry Plants" and "Dye, Gum, and Tobacco Plants" sections.
- Muwekma Ohlone Tribe - official website (https://www.muwekma.org/). Learn about the culture, ethnobotany, contributions, and historical territory of the Muwekma people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chochenyo is the language spoken in the East Bay. The "About > Tribal Culture > Customs and Traditions" page shows beautiful examples of baskets, ceremonial regalia, and adornment.
- "Native Peoples of the East Bay: Past to Present" (www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/Native_Peoples_Map_Brochure_2020.pdf). East Bay Regional Park District. Native Peoples of the Region Now Known as the East Bay, 2019. The PDF contains useful maps showing the people groups and languages spoken around the East Bay area.
- "Ohlone Basket Weaver - Linda Yamane" (https://youtu.be/fPBuGZ6sbKw). Wood Culture Tour, 2015. Yamane describes her journey to locate historic Ohlone baskets and to restore Ohlone basket weaving. She demonstrates how willow and sedge root is gathered and prepared, coiled and stitched into a basket, and embellished with shells and feathers. Baskets were essential for daily life and were both beautiful and functional.
- Ohlones and Coast Miwoks: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument. National Park Service website (https://www.nps.gov/articles/ohlones-and-coast-miwoks.htm#:~:text=Park%20areas%20south%20of%20the,lands%20of%20the%20Coast%20Miwoks). Overview of the Ohlone and Coast Miwok peoples living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Plant Life of the Puichon Ohlone: The Native Plants of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and Their Traditional Uses by the Muwekma Ohlone (https://muwekma.org/pdf/muwekma-plant-project.pdf). Compiled by Leon J. No’eau Peralto. Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve Docent Program, June 2008.
- "Pomo Basket Weaver - Corine Pearce on Pomo Baskets" (https://youtu.be/PiG5HbzDHuE, California episode). Craft in America, 2018. Compare basket weaving practices that cross tribal lines, and those that are unique to the Pomo. Historical Pomo territory is located in Northern California from the Pacific Coast extending inland to Clear Lake.
- The Art of Basket Weaving (https://youtu.be/DAm1OaW84pM). PBS SoCal, Artbound. Season 9, Episode 8. Native peoples across the country are revitalizing basketry traditions, which marry art and function. California natives are leading the way, thanks to the work of the California Indian Basketweavers' Association (CIBA), founded in 1992.
- The Ohlone Peoples: Botanical, Animal, and Mineral Resources, by Susan Labiste. Primitive Ways website (https://www.primitiveways.com/Ohlone%20Peoples3.html, and https://www.primitiveways.com/Ohlone%20Peoples4.html). Describes the many resources that the Ohlone peoples of California used. Of special interest is the section on Basketry Materials and Dye Plants (the website uses old-school navigation).
- Time Has Many Voices: The Excavation of a Muwekma Ohlone Village Site (https://www.pbs.org/video/time-has-many-voices-the-excavation-of-a-muwekma-ohlone-vil-3kwrxl/). PBS Documentary, 2022. The Muwekma partner with archeologists in an intensive excavation in California. Note that the documentary will only be available to stream until November 5, 2026.
