Case No. 11:
This food bowl is one of the finest specimens of decorative symbolism ever produced in Hopi basketry.
The decorations represent the knobhead (or Mudhead) Clown Kachina called Koyemsi, and the Crow Wing Mother (the mother of all Kachinas). The four ears of corn, each in a different color, represent the four seasons of the year.
Made by Lula Joshongeva, it received several awards at the 1956 Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonials, in Gallup, New Mexico. Further honor was bestowed the basket by a Navajo medicine man’s special blessing at a “Blessing Ceremony.” (See [Plate 8b])
BERRY GATHERING
Choctaw—Mississippi
Case No. 4:
The basket with a tall handle was made in 1817, fourteen years after the Louisiana Purchase. The basket with a shorter handle is a contemporary specimen.
The 1817 specimen is of considerable historical significance since it was brought to Oklahoma sometime between 1838 and 1842, at the time the Federal Government removed the Choctaw tribe from Mississippi to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). (See [Plate 5b])
WATER BOTTLE
Chiricahua and Havasupai—New Mexico and Arizona
Above door of entrance to Basket Gallery: