Native American basketry appears to be the first craft and one of the earliest means of artistic expression practiced by prehistoric Indians.
Basket making seems to be instinctual, as evidenced by the work of many of God's creatures, including the intricate webs from spiders and works of beavers and birds in making their dams and nests.
From the earliest of times, baskets allowed people to come together to eat.
In this way, baskets promoted gathering of food, social exchange, communication and language.
Basketry itself, is a learned art.
For centuries, the art has been taught by gathering and sharing.
Once a common practice among all tribes, the art of basket making has now disappeared among many of the remaining Native American tribes.
Because of the "Drawing Power" of the earth, baskets have been used since ancestral times, to hold sacred objects and thus prevent them from contacting the ground.
Ceremonial baskets frequently bare ritual objects such as prayer sticks, medicine bundles, yucca suds for hair washing; and cornmeal for weddings or the coming of age puberty rights.
The techniques of basket weaving used today are identical to their prehistoric ancestors, incorporating a woven coil and "split stitch" style from indigenous plants such as yucca, bear grass, and devil's claw.
There is a considerable amount of time and patience necessary for this craft.
The weaver must first gather his or her own natural materials to be used.
If any dying of colors is to be done, natural vegetable dyes are mad and applied to his or her gatherings.
All of this transpires before the basket weaving begins.
A favorite among southwest basket collectors is the "Navajo Wedding Basket".
Originated by the Paiutes and adopted by the Navajo, it is a tightly coiled basket consisting of a triple sumac rod foundation with fiber overlay, and finished by a false braid, also called the herring bone weave.
The center star may consist of a knot or a round coil.
The center is said to represent the beginning of life, moving outwards, while the outer white part represents an increase of the People.
The inner white designates the sacred mountains, whereas the outer white represents the dawn.
These are tied with the outside rim which represents a person's thoughts, prayers and values.
The gap or break in the design, that reaches from the center of the basket to the outer coil is known as the "shipapu".
The shipapu corresponds to the end of the final coil of the basket and is aligned with the final stitches of the rim finish.
The shipapu is believed to be the path of communication between the lower, ancestral worlds of the Navajo and the present world.
The shipapu is woven into the basket as a pathway to let the people emerge (more births into the upper world), and allowing the spirit to come and go.
In the Navajo wedding ceremony, the man and woman meet at sundown in a specially prepared shelter.
The wedding basket is placed in front of them, filled with blue corn meal.
They eat, taking alternate bites, beginning at the east edge and moving clockwise.
The guests then dip their fingers into the remaining meal and say a prayer.
The basket is then taken away by the groom's mother, and is not seen for the rest of the night.
The practice remains a vital part of the continuing traditions of Navajo life and culture.