ABOUT THE BASKET

Artist Sheila Kanieson Ransom is a well-known basket maker and a member of the Mohawk community of Akwesasne , which straddles a segment of the international border between northern New York and eastern Ontario. She has represented her Mohawk heritage through her artwork for the past twenty years. She learned the skill of basket making from her Godmother Mae Bigtree and Henry Arquette, a renowned basket maker. She has presented her work at the New York State fair, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake. Ransom also created a special basket which was presented to Pope Benedict XVI from the Mohawk nation during the canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.

Indigenous basket making is a practice essential to preserving and celebrating Mohawk culture. Ransom teaches children (including her grandchildren) to keep the tradition alive and preserve it for generations to come. The Waves Basket was made using sweetgrass and black ash trees found locally. These materials are used for their abundance and are easily manipulated to bend and form, yet are stable and sturdy. The surrounding waters of Akwesasne have inspired the design of this particular basket. Bright blue and purple were chosen to add a calming and aesthetic design, symbolizing waves of water. Ransom emphasizes that as the material crosses paths it has no beginning or end when woven tightly. Her baskets symbolize the resilience and strength of Mohawk culture. -Sabella Cromie

Sheila Kanieson Ransom
Waves Basket, 2021
Woven dried ash and sweetgrass
SLU 2021.4
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY